All In a Day's Work
by mslaurenmichelle
Summary: Finn, Rachel, and the rest of the New Directions are working at the prestigious McKinley Hospital in New York City. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Welcome to Paradise

**Chapter One: Welcome to Paradise**

**Author's Note: So this is going to be my first multi chapter fic! It's going to be a hospital fic, with our favorite New Directions members as doctors at a New York hospital. There will be multiple pairings, but the story will focus more on Finn and Rachel's relationship. As always, I do not own Glee. I just love the show and want to write about it. The chapter title comes from Green Day's "Welcome to Paradise."**

**I wasn't planning on posting this until I'd finished the story, but in light of recent events, I decided we all needed something to read with Finn and Rachel. RIP Cory, we all miss you and will love you forever.**

"Are you excited? Nervous? Anxious?" Rachel heard as she waited in the lobby on the first day of her internship at McKinley Hospital in New York City. She turned around and saw a few more interns walk into the hospital.

"Interns, gather around," a firm yet caring voice said from the bottom of the stairwell. All of the interns gathered around the man who was about to talk to the group. "My name is Dr. William Schuester, and I'm the chief of surgery here at McKinley Hospital. You all were chosen to complete your internship here because you showed promise in schools. This is an extremely competitive program. Look around. By the end of your residency, it's possible that there could only be two of you left in the program." The Chief looked down at his clipboard. "Now, I'm going to assign you to your residents. Noah Puckerman, Kurt Hummel, Tina Cohen-Chang, Quinn Fabray, Finn Hudson, Blaine Anderson and…" The Chief gave a soft smile at one of the names on the list. "Rachel Berry. You all are with Dr. Sylvester."

"Rachel Berry is in the internship?" someone whispered from behind Rachel. More murmurs started swirling around the lobby of the hospital.

Rachel sighed, puffing out her bangs as she exhaled. Being the daughter of famed surgeons Dr. Hiram Berry and Dr. Leroy Berry sometimes had its perks. Then there were days like this, or her first day of med school, or even her premed graduation. People heard the name Berry and started freaking out.

"She like, has surgery in her blood, man."

Rachel looked up to the Chief, begging him to move on with the list. She couldn't handle being the center of attention like this.

Rachel and the rest of Dr. Sylvester's interns stepped off to the side to meet with their new resident.

"So, I guess you guys are the newbies I'm being forced to show how to do their job correctly. Well, let's get started, I'm Dr. Sylvester and I don't do hand holding or hugging. I'm tough as nails because it's a dog eat dog world in here. Not only are you competing with all the other interns, but you're competing with interns at all the other hospitals. Do you know what you're competing for?"

"To be the best hospital in the country." Rachel said quickly.

"Very good, Berry. Now come with me, we have a lot of things to get done today. First, we're going on rounds. With the rounds, we're meeting with a repeat patient of mine." Dr. Sylvester stopped outside one of the elevators and pushed a button. "None of you better be claustrophobic. Here at McKinley, you take the elevators. You take the stairs, and your patient dies. And believe me, if one of my patients dies on your watch, you will feel my wrath. Especially if Dr. Washington over at St. John's hears about it. If you must know one thing about me, it's never to have me lose _anything_ to Dr. Washington." The elevator dinged and Dr. Sylvester and the interns stepped inside.

"You mentioned this patient was a repeat patient, Dr. Sylvester. What exactly is wrong with the patient?" one of Rachel's fellow interns asked. She assumed it was Tina Cohen-Chang.

"Well, Dr. Cohen-Chang, first off, you should pick one last name when working in medicine. The patients won't know what to call you and it'll get confusing. So pick a name and stick to it." The elevator doors opened and they stepped out onto the floor. "But the patient in question is a personal favorite of mine." Dr. Sylvester knocked on one of the doors then opened it. "Becky Jackson, you look stunning as always." Turning to the interns, she added, "This is Becky Jackson. She's like a daughter to me. Puckerman, present the case."

"Becky Jackson, twenty years old, Down syndrome. She was first brought to your care a few years ago with appendicitis, but then more conditions kept coming up."

"Right, Puckerman. And today, I have Becky scheduled to remove a small cyst on her pancreas. What would be a concern about doing this procedure?"

"She'd have a risk of developing diabetes. And if she did, she'd need a strong support system around her to make sure that she followed a proper diet and took all the medication that is required."

"Very good job, Hudson. Although since Becky has Downs, I'm sure she already has a strong support system. Anything else we need to be worried about?"

"Fistulas." Rachel said. "There's always the possibility. And if it's not caught in the drain, it can be deadly."

"Very good, Berry. You've certainly learned a lot from your fathers."

The interns' day progressed much like that. The most exciting thing that happened to them was seeing a world renowned brain surgery remove what others called an inoperable tumor.

"Thank God there's a bar right down the street from here." Puckerman said in the locker room. He pulled off his scrubs top and put on a tight fitting white tee shirt. "Who's coming with me for drinks? First round is on me." He smirked down a few rows at Quinn Fabray.

"You know, I would, but I have a date with my boyfriend. Sam Evans, you know, the quarterback for the Giants. Oh, Rachel, thanks for letting me stay in one of the rooms at your house."

"No problem, Quinn. Just make sure your portion of rent gets paid on time." Rachel smiled at the blonde as she left for the night.

Puckerman watched Quinn walk out of the room, then turned to Rachel. "Please tell me you have a spare room."

"Sorry, Noah. Quinn took the last one. I suppose you should have taken me up on my offer when I put it out for everyone."

"First off, Noah is a horrible name. You can call me Puckerman, or even better, Puck. And second of all, I thought you said you had like five other rooms. There's no way they're filled already."

"Sorry to bust your bubble, but they are all filled. Quinn has a room, Tina has a room, Finn has a room, Blaine has a room, and Kurt has a room. I guess you'll be looking for some other way to get into Quinn Fabray's pants." Rachel gave him a sympathetic look. "Although, I do have one more room open, but it's incredibly small."

"I'll take it. I'll do anything to take that room."

"Well, it's a real fixer-upper. And it gets burning up hot in the summer and freezing cold in the winter."

"I really don't care. Please, Rachel, I'm begging you, let me have that room."

"Okay, okay. The attic is all yours."

"The attic? Really? That's what I get? I'm not staying in some attic."

"If you want to be in the same house as Quinn Fabray, then you'll have to stay in the attic." Rachel turned around and fished though her bag that was sitting on a bench. "Here's your house key. Rent is due on the first day of every month. I have a no tolerance policy for hate speech, so leave that at the door. Be respectful of the other roommates' things. Don't play music too loudly because we all need sleep and that is rude. Can you live by that?"

"Damn, Berry. That's a lot of rules for a house that we won't even be seeing a lot of since the hospital essentially owns us."

"Take it or leave it, Noah." Rachel said, dangling the key in front of his face. He reached out and grabbed the key. "I'll see you tonight, Noah." She gave him a small smile and walked out of the room.

"I told you, call me Puck!" he hollered after her.

"So, you all are the new interns." The bartender said as he mixed some of the drinks.

"How could you tell?" Blaine asked, eyeing Kurt across the bar.

"You just have the intern look about you. Well, welcome to Rolling Greens." He handed Rachel her cosmo and winked at her, causing Rachel to blush and start to giggle.

"Rachel," a voice rang out from behind her. She turned around and squealed, jumping off her bar stool into the arms of some random guy.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Jesse St. James. He works as a nurse over at St. John's."

"Isn't that our competition?" Finn asked, staring into his beer.

"Well, yes, but don't any of you worry, I plan on sticking with the better of the hospitals in the area. Plus my daddies would have a fit if I started working at St. John's. You know they worked at McKinley before they started the free clinic that's coupled up with the hospital?"

"Well aren't you just awesome," Finn muttered under his breath. "Hey, Rachel, did you let Puck move into the house?"

"Wait, you're moving into the house?" Jesse said, glaring at Finn.

"Jesse, you know interns don't make much money. I figured that my grandmother's house hasn't been put to good use in months, and if people need a place stay, I'm fine with it. I don't want anyone to stay in the locker rooms because Claudia told me she had to do that when she started working and it just sounds completely unpleasant. I assure you that nothing is going to happen."

Jesse took one last look around the table. "Well, I hope that anyone that moves in is able to handle me stopping by to see you every so often. Especially after long night shifts." He leaned down and kissed Rachel. "I'll see you tomorrow night."

"I'll see you then." Rachel watched her boyfriend walk out of the bar and turned back to the rest of her new coworkers. "So, that's Jesse. I know he seems a little…strong right now, but I can promise that he's a wonderful guy. We've been dating for two months now and it's just been the best thing I could have asked for in my life." Rachel smiled and sat down as she took a sip of her drink. "Really. The best thing I could have asked for."

Finn looked down at his beer again. It wasn't natural for him to have feelings for a girl he literally met twelve hours ago. And it definitely wasn't natural for him to have feelings for someone he worked with. He made that promise back in med school, after his mother made him watch episodes of that massive hospital show where one of interns fell in love with her patient only for him to die on her after they got engaged. Sure, a coworker wasn't the same thing as a patient because they are two totally different things, but he just can't go there. It was against his code of ethics.

"Hey, can I come in?" Rachel said, giving a slight knock on Finn's bedroom door.

Finn paused his computer (he didn't need to Rachel to see what he was watching anyway) and nodded at her.

Rachel paused at the doorway and took a few steps into his room. She stopped a few steps away from Finn's bed.

"I just…I wanted to apologize for the way Jesse acted in the bar. He's a competitive person, but then again, all of us are. I suppose that's why being a doctor is such a good thing for us. Anyway, um, welcome to the house. If you need anything, just let me know. I've been staying at this house for most of my life. Whenever my fathers had something with McKinley they had to do, they'd drive me over here—to my grandmother's—and I'd spend the night here. And when she died, she left me the house. During med school, I just left it here. But when I finally got my dream job here, I knew I needed to move back in. And it needed to be filled with people. That's how my grandmother would have wanted it. Anyway, I totally went off on a tangent. I just wanted you to welcome you to the house and to apologize for Jesse's behavior." Rachel gave a small nod and started walking out of the room.

"It's no problem, Rach," Finn said, the nickname rolling off his tongue easily. "Thanks for letting us stay here."

She turned around, a small smile gracing her features. "You know, I haven't been called Rach since my grandmother died. It's nice to hear the nickname again."

"Well, I'm glad that I could help. Thanks for letting us stay here. It's a lot better than some crappy apartment down in Brooklyn or something like that."

"Well, I'm glad you appreciate this. Anyway, I should get to bed since we have an early morning at the hospital. Goodnight, Finn."

Finn watched her walk out of the room, rolled onto his stomach, and groaned into his pillow. This was proving to more impossible than he thought.


	2. Though It's Easy To Pretend

**Chapter Two: Though It's Easy To Pretend**

**Author's Note: Due to summertime insomnia and the fact that I had a Dr. Pepper at 10 o'clock at night, I have finished this chapter and the chapter that follows it. So I will be posting this chapter now, and will post chapter three later on in the day. As always, I do not own Glee. I just love the show and want to write about it. The chapter title comes from "Careless Whisper" by Seether (although the original version is by Wham)**

Two weeks had gone by, and so far, none of the interns in the program have quit, but there's rumors that one of them on Dr. Ryerson's service is ready to quit because he's been yelled at too many times.

"Think about how much that would suck." Finn said, taking a bite into his turkey sandwich at lunch the day the rumors started to swirl. "To make it this far into the field, then want to quit because of being yelled at. Total waste of money."

"Some people just aren't cut out for the medical life. Some people just can't handle it." Rachel said, trying to distract Finn so she could steal some of his French fries.

Over the last few weeks, Finn and Rachel had become best friends. Sure, Finn wanted to be more than friends, he knew he'd have to wait it out. From what he'd heard from Rachel's conversations with Jesse, things were incredibly rocky between the two of them. More than once, she'd come home from a date with him and have mascara marks all over her face. It took all the strength Finn had not to track that son of a bitch down and hurt him.

But that's not something that supportive best friends would do.

"Geez, Rach, if you want the fries why don't you just buy them for yourself?" Finn asked, teasing her. He knew the answer. She felt like there were "spies for her daddies" (her terminology, not his) all over the hospital, and she'd be in huge trouble if they ever saw her eating fries (something about the unhealthiness of the whole thing, Finn wasn't really sure what was going on when she talked about it with Quinn).

She gave him a look and rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, probably a snarky comment, but the table started beeping as everyone's pagers started going off.

"Shit, it's an SOS from the Chief. What do you think happened?" Puck asked, wiping the hot sauce off his face.

"It must be something important if he's paging interns." Blaine said, already sprinting for the office.

The page from the Chief was not all that important. Apparently, after only two weeks on the job, the interns had to fill out an evaluation about how they thought everything was going, and if there was anything the hospital could do to improve itself.

"I have to admit, I was disappointed. I thought it would be something cool, like a guy got his arm chopped off and we had to attach it ourselves," Puck said that night at Rolling Greens. He knocked back his shot back. He signaled to Pat, the bartender, to pour him another one.

Going out to Rolling Greens after every hospital shift had become a tradition with the roommates. It was right down the street from the hospital, and it was a great way for them to blow off a little steam after a grueling day at the hospital, especially when Dr. Sylvester gets mad at them for something that was completely out of their control (Rachel still hadn't forgotten how their resident had snapped at her when a patient was flirting).

"I hate to cut it short tonight, but I need to head back to the hospital. I'm on call tonight and this is the only real break I'm getting." Tina said, standing up from her bar stool.

"Good thing you were drinking Coke. Dr. Sylvester could probably smell liquor on someone from like two hundred feet away," Kurt said, trying to be funny. Instead he got a glare from Tina and a wet napkin thrown at him by Puck.

Finn chuckled to himself and looked down to the other end of the bar. He saw Rachel sitting by herself, slowly stirring her drink with a small straw and a dazed look on her face. Picking up his Bud Light, he walked down to the end of the bar that she sitting at and sat down next to her.

"Hey, Rach. How's it going?"

She sighed and kept stirring the drink. "It's been a crappy day. I watched Dr. Sylvester complete a perfectly good surgery, then I found out the patient went into cardiac arrest when he got back to his room. Dr. Chang managed to get him back to normal, but he's in a coma now. And if he dies, that's the first patient of mine that died. And on top of that, Jesse and I broke up this morning." She took a sip from her glass. "I wish I was drinking something stronger, but I'm really not in the mood for alcohol tonight so I'm drowning my sorrows in Coke." Rachel heard her pager go off from inside her purse and she started to dig through it to find out what was happening. "Damn it." A few tears slid out from the corners of her eyes. "He died."

Finn reached out and wiped her tears away. "No one wants to see a pretty girl crying. Especially when Puck is just down at the other end of the bar, and he'll make fun of you for crying. So why don't you go pull yourself together, and I'll pull the car around to the back entrance and I'll drive you home for the night."

Rachel sniffed and smiled at her best friend. "Thank you, Finn. You really are my best friend. You know that, right?"

Finn's smile faltered just a little bit. Why did he always have to be the good guy?

"Yeah, I know that."

Later that night, when it was still just Finn and Rachel at the house, Finn was in his room, watching a movie on his laptop, something he'd rarely been able to do since he started the internship. He looked up when he felt like someone was watching him and saw Rachel was standing the doorway.

"Hey, Rach, you know you can come in if you want to. It is your house and everything."

"No, it's fine. You're watching a movie and looked so peaceful. I can go bug someone else…somewhere else."

"No, it's fine. I've seen this movie a thousand times, anyway." He paused the movie and gave his full attention to Rachel. "Come on in."

She walked in and sat down on the bed next to him. "I have too much going on in my life right now. Between this internship and Jesse…I was at my breaking point. So I told that to Jesse and we broke up. I thought that would make me feel better, but it really doesn't. And now…this is happening and I can't deal with it all."

"What's happening?"

She sniffed and Finn could tell there were about to be tears. "Two nights ago, I found out I was pregnant. So this morning I told Jesse, and he told me to get rid of it."

"Oh, Rach. You didn't…"

"Of course not. I told I wouldn't do that to my baby, and that's when he said he was done with me. So now I'm completely alone and I'm going to have a baby with a man who doesn't even want it. I just don't know what I'm going to do," she said, burying her head in his chest.

Finn didn't know what to say, so he started rubbing her back in small circles. It was something his mother used to do for him when he was little and was scared about something.

"You won't be totally alone. You have a house full of people who I'm sure will try and help you with the baby. And I'm your best friend, right? I'll be here to help you out with everything." He kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Rach, and I won't let anything happen to you or the baby."

Rachel looked up at Finn, her tears making her eyelashes stick together. "Really? You'd do that for me?"

"That's what best friends are for, right?" he repeated.

He felt Rachel nod against his chest and she went limp in his arms. Either she had just died on him, or she was so wiped out from the day that she fell asleep. Finn moved her to lay her down on the bed, then stood up and pulled one of the blankets on his bed up to keep her warm. He learned that his room got a little chilly in the night, and Rachel needed sleep, not to wake up in the middle of the night shivering. He then went to the linen closet across the hallway from his room, grabbed a blanket, went downstairs, and curled up on the couch for the night.

"Finn. Finn. _Finn_!"

"What? What's going on? Who's dead?" Finn asked, jolting awake from his uncomfortable nap on a bench in the locker room. He saw Rach standing there with a slightly amused smile on her face. "Hey. Are you okay? Is the baby okay?"

"It was a false alarm. I just came back from the clinic. And thankfully, my daddies weren't there today, because that could have been a disaster. And I used a fake name, so they won't ever find out about this." She sat down on the bench next to him and took his hand. "But I wanted to thank you for everything you said last night. It was so sweet and I didn't even have to ask." He heard her pager go off and she sighed. "Well, I guess I have to go." She smiled at him and started to walk out of the room before turning around to face Finn again. "Someday, you are going to meet a wonderful girl and you're going to sweep her off her feet and the two of you will fall madly in love. And whoever that girl is…she'll be lucky because you really are a great guy, Finn." She gave him another smile before leaving to see what the page was about.

Finn groaned and leaned back on the bench. He'd already found the girl that Rachel was talking about; she just needed to realize it.


	3. This Is True

**Chapter Three: This Is True**

**Author's Note: I just want everyone to know that even though our hero Cory is dead, this story will **_**not**_** feature the death of Finn Hudson. I love the character of Finn too much to kill him off. Thought I'd go ahead and post this now since the news of how he died was released. Still doesn't change anything about how I feel about him. That being said, I don't own **_**Glee**_** or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from "True" by Ryan Cabrera.**

The next morning, Rachel was waiting for Dr. Sylvester to arrive at the hospital to give her the assignments for the day. Even though a lot of people complained about Dr. Sylvester being too tough on the interns, Rachel actually liked that. She knew that not everyone would be sunshine and daisies, and Rachel appreciated that about her. She had chosen a competitive field to work in, and if her attending doctor was able to push her to make her better, she would take the lessons she was learning and apply them to when she had patients of her own.

Falling in love with a fellow intern was not part of Rachel's plans. Damn Finn Hudson for making her feel this way. When Rachel had made her whole spiel about finding a great girl and being swept off her feet…she wanted that with Finn. Badly.

"He probably doesn't even feel the same way about me."Rachel said, tapping her pen on the desk at the nurse's station.

"Who doesn't feel the same way about you?" Kurt asked, coming up behind Rachel. He put a few patient charts down on the desk and looked at Rachel.

"It's no one, Kurt," Rachel said, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. "What are you even doing here? Sylvester doesn't even need us in until later."

"I suppose I could ask you the same question." He gave Rachel a look and smiled at her. "You know, you and I are almost the exact same. We both came in earlier than we needed to because we want to get ahead of everyone else and prove to Sylvester that we are cut out for the surgical world."

Rachel bit her lip and gave Kurt a small smile. "Yeah, you're right. I've wanted to be a surgeon since I was three years old and my daddies brought me into the hospital for Bring Your Child To Work Day. What about you; how long have you wanted this?"

"I guess it started around the time my mom died, so I had to be eight or nine. She had cancer. So I told my dad after her funeral that I was going to be a doctor and save lives. But once I got in college, I decided I wanted to be more of a surgeon than an actual doctor in an office."

"Kurt, I'm so sorry. I-I didn't know."

"It's okay. But I must like you, because I hardly tell anyone about my mother. Even to my dad." He took a deep breath and looked up to see Sylvester was coming down the hallway.

"Hummel, Berry, you're here early. Come with me, I have something that needs to get done, and it will probably take the three of us to do it. But," she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. "You can't tell any of the other interns about this."

"Is this thing we're doing legal?" Rachel said, biting the cap of her pen.

"Of course it is, Berry. Now are you both in or out?"

"Why not?" Rachel said, coming around the nurses' station desk. "Kurt, are you coming with us?"

"Sure. It'll give me something to do around here."

The three of them started walking down the corridor and turned at the end of hallway.

"Dr. Sylvester, can we know about what this is?" Rachel asked timidly. Normally, she wouldn't back away from something like this, but she didn't exactly know what was going on, and Rachel always needed some form of control in a situation.

"I have a patient that wants to die, but because of the law here in New York, I can't do that for the patient. So, what I need from the two of you is to…"

"You want us to kill the patient? Dr. Sylvester, with all due respect, I'm sorry, but we cannot do that. Even Rachel asked if this was legal and you said it was but this sounds totally illegal—"

"Calm yourself, Hummel. I was going to say that I wanted you both to call hospitals in Washington, Oregon, and Montana to see if we could send the patient out there. Because that's where it's legal. So I'm taking you to my office so you can make the calls in peace."

"But, Dr. Sylvester—"

"Berry, don't even start now. This patient has completely lost the will to live." Sylvester took a ragged breath. "This was my very patient I ever had. And I know you aren't supposed to get this connected to patients, but this patient has been with me for years. And this is something that you'll be faced with further along in your careers, so get used to it." Dr. Sylvester opened the door to her office where a dummy sat in one of the chairs.

"What is this?" Rachel asked, stepping further into the office.

"This was a test. To see how you would react to a patient's wish to die. Just because New York doesn't have physician assisted suicide doesn't mean that the hospital you work at during your residency or when you're an attending will have the same laws. So, my advice to the two of you will be to choose whether or not you will allow your future patients to do this or not."

"No fair, you got the biggest room out of all us." Finn said when he came into Rachel's room after work.

"Well, it's my grandmother's house, so I feel like I get the first pick on the rooms. And actually, this isn't the biggest room. This is the room that I would always stay in when I stayed here with my grandparents. That's why the walls are pink and have gold stars all over the walls. It's a long story about the gold stars. And for the biggest room, that honor goes to Kurt. He took over my grandparents' room. Unless you consider Noah up in the attic as having the biggest room." She smiled her signature smile at Finn. "So, welcome to my room. Is there anything I could help you with?"

"I need to talk to you about something really important."

"Oh god, did Dr. Sylvester do the little test with you, too? I swear, I'm usually way more on top of things than I was today, I really don't know where my head was…"

"Wait, what test? She gave you a test that she didn't give to the rest of us?"

"What? Oh…never mind. Forget I said anything. What's up? It's not movie night, is it?"

"No, it's not. There's just something I need to tell you about. Yesterday when we were talking in the locker rooms, you mentioned that someday I would find the girl of my dreams."

_Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!_ Rachel thought. _He's seriously about to say that he found the girl already and I'm basically screwed. So much for being in love with Finn Hudson, because he clearly doesn't think about me in that way._

"Oh, yeah. I remember." Rachel said, starting to bite her thumb nail, something Rachel never did.

"Well, Rach, I think I found her."

"Wow, that's great, Finn. Congratulations. I hope the two of you are extremely happy."

"Did I say something wrong? I just wanted to tell you about something I figured out today." Finn rubbed the back of his neck, hoping that he'd be able to spit out what he wanted to say. "Rach, the dream girl I want is you. I can't believe that I fell in love with you, with my best friend, but I did. I love you, Rachel Berry, and I want to be with you." Finn finished his mini speech and looked expectantly at her. She just stared blankly back at him.

"You…love me? We've only known each other for, like, two weeks. Are you sure you're even in love with me?"

"This is the part where you're supposed to swoon and say you love me too. You aren't supposed to question this."

"Finn…I…"

"Save it, Rach. I don't need to waste my time." He stomped towards the door and slammed it shut, making one of Rachel's pictures on her wall quiver from the force of the door slam.

Rachel stared at her door, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Finn stood in front of her and told her the words she'd been waiting to hear from him for days and she basically threw it away.

_There has to be some reason you hesitated. Besides, the two of you have only known each other for two weeks. He probably doesn't love you, he loves everything you're doing for him._

So if that's what Rachel's conscience was telling her, why did she not believe it herself?

A little ways across town, Finn was back at Rolling Greens, knocking back drinks with Puck.

"She turned you down once, bro. Don't even try to ask her again. You need to find a hook up with some hot chick. A one night stand, if you please." Puck started looking around the bar, probably trying to find someone decent for Finn. "Try her over there. She's been looking over here all night, and she probably wants a piece of the Hudmeister. So go over there and get over that girl."

_Oh Puck, if only it were that easy._ Finn thought. He quickly knocked back another drink, wiped his mouth and walked over to the blonde.

"Hi there." Her eyes ran up and down Finn's body, obviously giving him the once over. "I'm Megan."

"Finn." He took a sip of beer, trying to calm his nerves. He didn't want to be here, flirting with Megan. He wanted to be back at the house, curled up on the couch with Rachel, watching some movie (he'd prefer a horror movie, that way she'd be burying her head against his chest and he'd be able to comfort her).

"So, what do you do, Finn?"

"I'm an intern over at McKinley. What about you?"

"I'm a tattoo artist. At the parlor over on 42nd. But a doctor? That's pretty cool. Do you hook up with everyone else, like they do on Grey's Anatomy?"

Finn chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. Everyone assumed that because he was a doctor, his behavior mirrored what happened on all of the TV shows.

"Well, it depends on if you like the show or not."

"It's my favorite TV show. And I love seeing all the hookups that happened."

Finn smiled. "Then it's definitely like the TV show."

Megan smiled and took a sip of her drink. "Are you hooking up with anyone right now?"

"Nope." Finn said, adding extra emphasis on the "p" sound. "But I'm looking for one."

Megan raised an eyebrow and smiled at Finn. "Well, what a coincidence because so am I."

"Quinn, I am so stupid. Finn was basically in my room an hour and a half ago and told me that he loved me. I told him that I wasn't ready…essentially. And now I don't have any clue where he is and I just want to find him so I can tell him that I love him too and it's time for us to be together."

"Maybe you'll just have to give him some time. Guys don't like to be rejected, so they either keep trying, like Puck does, or they need space, which, from what I can tell, is what Finn will most likely do."

"Noah is still harassing you?"

"Every single fucking day. I'm just not ready to give into his advances. I like waking up to breakfast in bed. Especially when it's omelet days on the weekends."

"So that's where all the eggs have ended up." Rachel said absentmindedly, her eyes trailing to the door as it sounded like keys were fumbling to get in the lock. "Are we about to get robbed?"

"No, my guess is that Puck and Finn got way to drunk at the bar and are trying to get through the door right now. One of them probably has the key upside down. Probably Puck, he's the more dumbass of the two."

Rachel nodded and kept staring at the door. Her heart sped up when she noticed Finn came in the door and her heart quickly sank when she noticed a blonde follow Finn inside.

"So this is Megan. I'd appreciate it if no one bother us tonight." He smiled, took Megan's hand, and they sprinted up the stairs together.

Quinn hastily stood up from her spot on the couch. "Well, I think it's time for me to hit the sack for the night. There's early morning rounds and—"

"Oh no, you don't get to go to bed right now. Finn's room is next door to mine. I'm not going up there so I can hear…that all fucking night long."

This had to be the absolute worst night in Rachel Barbra Berry's entire life. All night, all she heard from Finn's room was "Harder" and "Faster" and "OH MY GOD, FINN!"

"I'm going insane." Rachel whispered to herself, reaching over to her bedside table to pull out headphones so she didn't have to hear anything else that was happening in the room next door.

Little did she know, the headphones would do her little good.

"I can't take this anymore." Rachel said, going over to the wall that the sounds were coming from, hit her fist against the wall four times, and shouted "Some of us have early rounds in the morning!" She stepped back, satisfied that there was finally silence from the room next door, she walked back to her bed and climbed in. A few seconds later, her door was opening and Finn peeked his head in.

"What's your deal, Rachel?" He shut the door again as Rachel rolled over in her bed and groaned into her pillow. She was in for a long night.


	4. Foolish Lover's Game

**Chapter Four: Foolish Lover's Game**

**Author's Note: Thank you to all of the readers how have taken time to review and favorite/follow my story. It makes me feel great as a writer. And I also changed Sue's position as a resident to an attending because it made more sense with the coming chapters. I'll try to go back and edit that in the story later on. As always, I don't own Glee or any of the Glee characters (however, Megan is my own character). The chapter title comes from Take My Breath Away by Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera (or if you want to consider it from the original version, it's by Berlin).**

**I've decided to go ahead and post new chapters whenever they're ready to be posted, so keep checking back to see if anything gets posted. Since it's summer, I tend to have a lot more time on my hands.**

Rachel could barely stand to look at Finn. And whenever she actually did, she had a feeling she had this pained expression on her face. At least, that's what Kurt and Quinn always told her would happen.

"Today you all are assisting on another attending's surgery." Sylvester said when her group of interns gathered around her. "This is Dr. Santana Lopez, she's one of the best orthopedic surgeons in the country. Now you can't cross her or make her mad because she will very possibly kick you out of the O.R., and you'll have nothing else to do for the day."

"But, Dr. Sylvester, on the board it says you have a surgery today. Couldn't we come in and assist you on that?" Puck asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"No. The surgery I have planned for today is way too complicated for any interns to be in on. You all are on Lopez's service for today."

Rachel inwardly groaned. At least with Sylvester, she had heard rumors swirling about Finn and Rachel. But Rachel didn't know anything about Santana Lopez, except for that she was a self proclaimed bitch and she was a damn good ortho surgeon.

"Well, welcome to my service. As Sue said, I'm Santana Lopez. And if you mess this surgery up in any way, shape or form, you will be off my case, not only today, but forever. I will make sure there is no place for you on ortho rotation. Do a good job, and there's a chance that the first round of drinks are on me tonight at Rolling Greens. So let's go meet the patient.

"Good job in there, Berry." Lopez said in the scrub room. "You ever consider doing ortho?"

"No, I always I was going to do general."

Santana frowned at her. "You can do so much better than general." She started to walk out the door, then turned around. "There's a spot open for you on ortho after your internship is over."

Rachel smiled as she took off the gloves. "Well, thank you, Dr. Lopez."

"No problem. I compliment good talent when I see it. I'll see you at Rolling Greens tonight, right?"

"Oh, I can't go tonight. I have something else I have to do."

"Your loss. I'll see you around, I guess." Santana left and Rachel stood around for a little longer. Finally, she figured she should leave before the next surgery was arriving to the O.R.

"Everything okay, Dr. Berry?" a voice called out as she left the scrub room. Rachel turned around and saw Dr. Schuester, the Chief of Surgery.

"Just fine, Dr. Schuester. Just on my way home for the night."

"Oh, okay. You just looked a little distracted. Do the surgery not go well?"

"No, the surgery went well. Dr. Lopez is a wonderful doctor."

"Ah, yes, that's very true. Well, I won't keep you much longer. Next time you see your fathers, tell them I said hello."

"Will do, Chief." Rachel gave him a small nod and a smile and proceeded to the locker rooms for the rest of the interns.

"Rachel, you coming to the bar tonight? First round is on Lopez!" Puck said.

"No, I had a long night. I'm just going to head home and try to get some sleep. God knows I didn't get any of that last night." She looked at Finn and glared at him. If he noticed the glare, he did a good job of pretending like he hadn't seen it.

Once Rachel got back to the house, she set her bag down on the front table, kicked her shoes off into the hall closet, made her way to the couch, sunk down onto it, and curled into a little ball and started crying. She hated Finn Hudson for doing this to her, absolutely hated him.

But she loved him more than she hated him. And she couldn't understand why this was happening to her.

"Hey, I just came by to see if you were okay?" Blaine said, coming into the house. "But by the looks of you curled up on the couch and crying, I'd say you aren't. Hold on, I have something to help with this." Blaine went to the kitchen, pulled out a gallon of ice cream, two spoons, and walked back into the living room. "Isn't ice cream supposed to make everything better?"

Rachel smiled at him, digging her spoon into the chocolate goodness. "Ice cream makes everything better. Everybody knows that."

There was silence for a few minutes as Rachel started eating the ice cream. Blaine took a few spoonfuls, but he kept staring at Rachel.

"What? You're supposed to be making faces like that to Kurt. Although I ask that if you hook up here in the house, you at least try to keep it down because I don't need a repeat performance of Finn and whatever that bitch's name was. God, they were so damn loud." Rachel realized what she was saying. "But it's not like I care, or anything like that. Finn and I are just friends, nothing more than that."

"That there is a lie. Because it is so obvious to everyone, both here and at the hospital, that the two of you are in love with each other. Before I left the hospital, Sylvester wanted me to check up on the patient with appendicitis from last night. And she asked me if you and Finn were together. Do you want to know what she said when I said no."

"Not particularly."

"She said the two of you were being stupid and needed to break up with whoever you were dating because she said your chemistry was completely undeniable."

"Well, Blaine, I'm glad a patient thinks that a fellow intern is perfect for me. But I don't think I'm meant to be with Finn."

"You can't give up like this. I knew Rachel Berry back in high school, and if she wanted something, she'd go after it."

"Well, Blaine, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't think Finn and I are going to be together for a while. But you and Kurt on the other hand. When are you just going to just admit to that?"

"Last night. We're going out after work tomorrow." Blaine said with a smile.

"Well, good for you. Just don't hope for the same thing to happen to me and Finn. Because it probably won't. And besides, I don't love him. He's just a really good friend.

"Mhmm, sure. But if you don't love him, why are you eating so much of the ice cream?"

"Because it's been awhile since I've had ice cream and it's the greatest treat in the entire world." Rachel looked down at her spoon and frowned. "And it's a way to drown my sorrows without getting drunk and saying something I'd probably regret in the morning."

Blaine gave Rachel a hug. "I think you and Finn are meant to be together, and I think you need to have some time apart to be able to see that. Just don't take forever on the time apart, because I met Megan this morning and I can't see him being with her for much longer."

"You really think so?"

"I know so. Now, I'm going to head off to bed because I was up all night having to listen to Megan and Finn. And from the looks of things at the bar, it looks like it's going to happen again tonight."

"Great. I can't take another night of having to listen to that." Rachel got up from the couch and stretched. "I'll see you in the morning. Night, Blaine."

"Goodnight, Rachel. And for both of our sakes, I hope that Finn leaves Megan behind at the bar."

Rachel nodded as Blaine started up the stairs for his room. She waited a few minutes, then walked to the back door, unlocked it and opened it. She stepped out and let the cool autumn air welcome her. She climbed up onto one of the ledges and let her legs hand over the side.

She looked up at the dark sky and tried not to cry. She'd felt like that was all she'd been doing the last twenty-four hours, and she needed a break from the tears.

If this was a movie, this would be the time when some fairy godmother would come and talk to Rachel about her life, and Rachel would realize she wanted to be with Finn more than anything in the world, and the fairy godmother would wave her magic wand, and Megan would disappear, and she could be with Finn.

But this is reality, and the only fairy godmother that Rachel has is her old stuffed dog, named Barbra, left over from the days when her daddies would play nothing but Barbra Streisand around the house (Rachel suspected that they loved Barbra before she was even born and that's why they gave her the middle name of Barbra). But even stuffed puppy dog Barbra was starting to lose some of her superpowers.

"I guess there's no more magic left in my life." Rachel said, a tear drop sliding down her cheek.

She heard the front door open and Finn walked in, thankfully without Megan tonight. He saw her sitting outside and walked out the back door to join her.

"It feels really good out tonight." Finn said, leaning against one of the posts on the deck.

Rachel nodded. She knew that if she opened her mouth, she'd start crying or say something she'd regret. And she didn't want to have that happen.

"So, I'm sorry about last night. I probably was a douche, wasn't I?" he asked. Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "You aren't going to talk to me, are you?"

"What am I supposed to say? We didn't end things on a good note. I want to be your friend, but I'm not sure if I want anything more than that. And you seemed to enjoy your time with Megan last night. And I'm not one to stand in the way of love."

"Rach, hold on—"

"No, Finn. I'm sorry, but I just can't deal with a relationship right now. And besides, I just got out of a really bad one. Give me some time to sort out my feelings for you and Jesse. Because if you and I are really meant for each other, I want to make sure you aren't going to be a rebound." Rachel hopped off from her spot on the deck post. "I'll see you in the morning, Finn." She patted him on the shoulder and walked back in the house.

Finn kept standing on the deck and stared incredulously into the house. Had she just admitted she had some sort of feelings for him? Feelings that were more than platonic?

"I'm going to fight like crazy for you, Rachel Berry." Finn said, clenching his fist. "I'll be the best friend you've ever had, and when you're ready to date me, I'll be right here for you." Smiling to himself, he walked back into the house, grabbed his phone off the small table in the kitchen, and dialed Megan's number.

"I was wondering when you were going to call. Although I expected you to take me home with you from the bar." Megan said when she picked up on the first ring.

"Look, Megan, I feel like I need to be straight with you. The way I acted last night…that's not the real me. I just…I would never act like that."

There was silence on the other line. "There's somebody else, isn't there?"

"Yes. There most definitely is. It's just…incredibly complicated."

"Well, I'll try to complicate things. Consider us, whatever last night was, a onetime thing. Just, call me if you ever want it to be more than a onetime thing."

"I highly doubt that I'll need anything more than a onetime thing. Have a good night, Megan."

"Fuck you, Finn." The line went dead.

Now the only thing left to do was to win Rachel over.


	5. Tell Myself You Never Loved Me

**Chapter Five: Tell Myself You Never Loved Me**

**Author's Note: Shout out to my best friend kaitlinklaine for all her alerts and favorites and reviews! The dream sequence that takes place during the story is in italics. As always, I don't own Glee or any of the Glee characters. The chapter title comes from Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac. And since today is Wednesday, don't forget to wear blue for our favorite tall, awkward, Canadian, actor, drummer, person.**

When Rachel woke up a few days later, she could tell something was wrong. She had a weird feeling in her stomach, a headache, and she was pretty sure she had a fever.

Rachel Berry was sick, and that hardly ever happened.

She forced herself out of bed and stumbled downstairs to force some food down before work.

"Whoa, Berry, you look horrible." Puck said looking up from his breakfast of Lucky Charms and Fruit Loops mixed together.

"Shut up, Noah." She took a sharp inhale and had to grab onto the corner of the island to keep from collapsing.

"Rach, are you okay?" Finn said, reaching out to try and guide her to a seat.

"I think I just have a little cold. I'll be okay. What time did Sylvester say she wanted us to be there?"

"There's no way you're going to work today. I'll stay here and make sure you're okay." Finn said. "You go back to bed, and I'll bring you up some toast."

"But I can't miss work. The patients, the internship…"

"There will be more patients in the future, and you won't lose your job. Even though Sylvester is tough on all of us, she thinks highly of you. And the Chief adores you; you're like the daughter he never had with Emma. I even heard him say that to Emma in passing one day. So unless you royally fuck something up, you won't lose your job at McKinley." Finn said. He debated going over to where she was sitting and picking her up to take her back to her room, but that's something a boyfriend would do. And while Finn and Rachel were back to being best friends, they weren't quite at that point in their relationship.

"I still can't miss work. I probably ate something funky. Food poisoning isn't contagious. I just need to take some medicine and I'll be fine." She stood up from her stool and gripped onto the corner of the island for support.

"No, Rach, there's something wrong with you. So, either you can walk yourself upstairs and go back to sleep, or I'm picking you up, taking you to bed, locking the door, and leaving for work. Take your pick."

Rachel bit her lip and looked at Finn through her bangs. "Fine. I'm going back to bed. But if Sylvester gets mad at me, you can tell her that it's all your fault. And yours too, Noah!"

"What did I do?"

"I don't know…accessory to the crime. For not telling Finn that I'm fine." She grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and stomped back up to her room.

"Rachel, what are you doing in bed?" Tina asked, peeking into Rachel's room. "You're going to be late to work."

"I was told that I'm not going to work because of a little stomach issue when really all I have to do is take an Advil every few hours."

Tina came further into Rachel's room and sat at the end of her bed. "Is everything okay?"

"Well, I have a slight stomachache and it kind of hurts every time I move. I woke up this morning and had a small fever and a headache. But I'm pretty sure the headache is from dehydration."

"Do you mind if I do a quick exam on you?"

"Be my guest. If that means I can go to work, you'll be my freaking savior." Rachel moved over on the bed and Tina sat down next to her. The first place she touched on Rachel's stomach, she screamed out in pain.

"Yeah, I think you get to go to work today. But you get to be the patient, not the doctor. I think you have appendicitis."

"Appendicitis? Why didn't I think of that. Of course that's what I have." Rachel slumped back into bed. "But how can I get to the hospital when I can barely move."

Tina thought for just a minute. "I know! I'll be right back. Don't move." Tina ran out of Rachel's room.

"Don't move? Are you kidding me? Totally not funny."

A few moments later, Finn and Puck were standing in Rachel's doorway.

"Don't just stand there. Go help the poor girl who has appendicitis get off the bed and into the car." Tina said. Finn and Puck snapped out of the daze that they were in and went over to pick Rachel up from the bed.

"Noah, you are not touching me. Back away." Rachel snapped. "Knowing you, you'll try and find a way to feel me up and it's not cool, especially since I can barely move." She turned her attention to Finn. "Please be gentle because the pain is some of the most excruciating pain I've ever felt before."

"I'll try my hardest. I can't believe I didn't realize you had appendicitis. That is like, the most basic medical procedure ever. And the signs are so obvious."

"Can we stop talking about missing the signs and stuff because I kinda want my appendix out before it bursts and I die."

"Right, sorry, Rach." Finn leaned over the bed and gingerly picked Rachel up and she curled into his chest.

"Now, let's get to the hospital." Tina said, leading the roommates out of Rachel's room and out to one of the cars in the driveway.

"Hudson, Puckerman, you're early for work And what's up with Berry? She looks sicker than a dog." Sylvester said when they arrived at the hospital.

"She has appendicitis. She needs surgery ASAP." Puck said.

"How long have the symptoms been here?" Sylvester said, guiding Finn over to an empty hospital bed. He carefully put Rachel on the bed and Sylvester started taking her vitals.

"She started complaining about them this morning. She just thought she had a cold. I told her she was going to have to stay home from work and she got mad. So she went upstairs and Tina figured out what it was."

"Well, good for her. And for you, Berry, we're going to get you into surgery right away. Puckerman, go apologize to the patient in 1214 and tell her the surgery will be at noon today. Hudson, you're going to help me out with the appendectomy. And let the Chief know that Rachel is going into surgery and tell him to call Leroy and Hiram to let them know."

The two interns nodded and ran to do what Sylvester told them to do.

"_Where am I?" Rachel asked. She looked around and saw she wasn't in the hospital, or the operating room. Instead she was standing in what appeared to be a courtroom._

"_Rachel Barbra Berry, you are on trial that will decide your fate with Finn Hudson."_

"_My fate with Finn? He's my best friend, and he always will."_

"_Oh give it up, girl." The judge came into the room and took her spot. "My name is Judge Mercedes Jones, and this is the bailiff, Mr. Samuel Evans. Now, where is your counselor?"_

"_My counselor? I don't even know why I'm here. I'm just supposed to be having my appendix at McKinley Hospital in New York City. Not having a court session about my feelings for Finn. Which, might I add, are one hundred percent platonic. I don't have any romantic feelings towards him."_

"_Objection, Your Honor." Rachel turned to her left and saw her hardest teacher from med school, Cassandra July, sitting at the prosecution table. "There are multiple pictures proving that things are more than platonic. Exhibit A, twenty minutes ago, you leaned your head on Mr. Hudson's chest."_

"_Um, yeah. I was trying to be more comfortable. I have appendicitis."_

"_Exhibit B, the hurt look on your face when he brings home when he brings one night stand Megan."_

"_I was just surprised. Even best friends are surprised when people have one night stands with bleach blonde tramps. And I still don't see what this is trying to prove."_

"_Ms. Berry, we're going to play a game. I'm going to say a word, and you have to say the first thing that pops into your head. Ready?" Cassandra said, walking over to where Rachel was sitting. "Work."_

"_McKinley Hospital."_

"_Friends."_

"_Rachel Green."_

"_Not the TV show, you idiot. We're trying that again. Friends."_

"_Kurt Hummel."_

"_Love of your life."_

"_Finn Hudson."_

_As soon as she said Finn's name, her mouth dropped open and her jaw about hit the floor._

"_I rest my case, Your Honor. The girl is in love with Finn Hudson."_

_The judge turned her attention to Rachel. "Now, why do you think you don't love Finn Hudson?"_

"_Because he doesn't love me. What he did today…he did it because he's my best friend. Not because he wants to be my boyfriend. And a few nights ago, he came into my room to tell me he found his dream girl. And even though he thinks it's me, I really don't think it's me. He feels like he loves me because I'm giving him a place to stay and it's a lot cheaper than any place that's actually near the hospital. And if he really loved me, he wouldn't have hooked up with Megan. Your Honor, I'd much rather stay friends with Finn Hudson than start a relationship with him."_

"_And why is that?"_

"_Because the last relationship I was in ended badly. And I don't want that to happen to Finn and I. I care about him too much and I…I…"_

"_Just spit it out, Berry, some of us don't have all day." Cassandra said, examining her nails._

"_I love him. I love him so fucking much. And I kept telling myself that I don't love him or that he doesn't love me because I'm scared. I'm scared of us breaking up and ruining our friendship, and I'm worried about things going wrong that shouldn't go wrong. But mostly I'm scared that I'm not good enough for him."_

"_Well, Ms. Berry, I'm here to inform you that it's my opinion that none of those things should happen to you. However, the Fate Sisters and I haven't been getting along the last few months, so they probably won't listen to me, but I think even they can see how much the two of you are meant to be together. So, I'm demanding that once you get out of surgery, you talk to Mr. Hudson about your relationship. Do you understand me?"_

"_Yes, ma'am."_

"_Good. Now, they're taking you out of the operating room so our time here is done. I hope everything works out between the two of you because you have the cutest couple name ever."_

"_A couple name?"_

"_Yes, Berry, a couple name. You take a few letters from his name and a few letters from your name and smush them together."_

"_That's enough, Cassandra. You're dismissed." Mercedes turned back to Rachel. "Yes, that is a couple name. And your couple name with Finn is Finchel."_

"_Finchel? You're right, it is pretty cute."_

"_Good, Ms. Berry. Now it's time for you to let go from this so you can tell that boy how you really feel about him."_

"Finn…" Rachel said as she started to come back from the anesthesia.

"She's waking up. Page Dr. Sylvester." one of the nurses said. Rachel vaguely recognized the voice.

Rachel blinked a few times, trying to get used to the florescent lights. "I need to talk to Finn."

"He's in a surgery right now, sweetie." Rachel blinked and saw her dads sitting on the hospital chairs.

"What are you doing here?"

"Will personally called us and said you were going into surgery. So we came to see you and make sure you're okay."

"When can I talk to Finn? Do you have any idea?"

"Right now." Finn said, out of breath. "I ran all the way here. Glad to see you're awake. Sirs," Finn said, acknowledging her dads sitting in the chairs. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Better. Tired." Her head started to fall back against her pillow before she bolted to sit upright. "I need to talk to you. Alone." She turned her head to where Hiram and Leroy were sitting.

"Leroy, would you look at the time. I think we need to remind Paige about the one patient…" Hiram started.

"Oh, right. Most definitely. We'll be back in a little bit, sweet pea." Leroy said, walking over to Rachel's bed. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and her dads left the room.

"So, let me check on your vitals to see how you're doing."

"Can you not be Dr. Finn Hudson and instead be my best friend Finn Hudson for like five minutes?"

"Is everything okay, Rach?"

"I love you. And I know I said I didn't want you to be some rebound that I date to help me get over Jesse but the truth is, I was over Jesse even when the two of us were dating. I love you and I want us to be together."

"You're sure about this?"

"One hundred percent sure. I love you, Finn Hudson."

"I love you, too Rachel Berry." He licked his lips and looked down at her.

"You can kiss me if you want to." Rachel said, squirming around in the bed to get more comfortable.

"I want to." And with that, his lips crashed down onto Rachel's in the most searing kiss she had ever experienced.


	6. Help Me Fit In My Skin

**Chapter Six: Help Me Fit In My Skin**

**Author's Note: Once again, thank you to everyone who has alerted and followed this story. Now, just because Finn and Rachel are (finally) together, it doesn't mean that the story is ending anytime soon, hopefully. I'm honestly playing this by ear, and we're going to see where the story goes. Instead of Rachel being a vegan in the story, I decided to make her a selective vegetarian (like I am), hence the choice of dinner that occurs later in the chapter. And as a side note for the rest of the story, Finchel and the rest of the roommates are Yankees fans, mostly because I know Lea loves the Yankees, and they also happen to be my favorite baseball team. As always, I don't own the Glee characters or the Yankees, all of those rights go to Ryan Murphy and Fox and Brian Cashman and the Steinbrenner family, respectively. The chapter title comes from the song Naked by Avril Lavigne.**

"Hey there, sexy doctor. Is there a way you can spring me from this place? I miss seeing the patients, not being a patient." Rachel said after being in the hospital for two days.

"Sexy doctor? Wow. I've been upgraded in the past two days. I feel special." Finn said, sitting down in one of the chairs in Rachel's room.

"Well, don't feel so special. I'm trying to use as many nicknames as possible on all of the doctor's to let me out of here. I'm going insane."

"Well, you can call me the bearer of good news because I have your release papers here for you to sign."

"Oh thank God. I've been waiting days for this. Gimme the papers. Gimme me, gimme me, gimme me!" Rachel all but leaned over to grab the papers out of Finn's hands.

"Wait a second, you don't get to have these right away. I have something to ask you before you aren't my patient anymore."

"Technically I'm not your patient. I'm Sylvester's patient, and you're the intern on my case. But what did you want to ask?"

"I want to take you out on a real date. And not just a nighttime pudding eating fest. A real date. One where you and I get dressed up and go out to dinner. I was thinking Sardi's—"

"Sardi's!" Rachel squealed. "I've always wanted to go there. Yes, Finn Hudson, I will go on a date with you." Her smile started to fade. "But there's something I need to ask you."

"What's wrong? Are you already doubting our relationship because, Rach, I'm really into this."

"No, Finn, don't worry, so am I. It's just, I'm not really ready for everyone to know about us. So is there any way we could…I don't know…keep our relationship between the two of us for now?"

Finn smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind Rachel's ear. "Anything for you, Rach." He leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on her lips.

She sighed. "I can't wait to get out of here so that way I can give you a real kiss. And maybe a little something more."

"Trust me, Rachel Berry, I want you out of here just as much. And that is what these papers are for." Finn handed Rachel the papers and handed her a pen and she scribbled her signature on the paper. "So when is our date? Do you want me to make the reservation for the restaurant when I get back to the house?"

"No because the reservation is for tomorrow night at seven. I can't wait." Finn said, smiling at her. "I'll see you back at the house."

"I'll see you tonight." Rachel got up from the bed and kissed Finn's cheek. "If there's a way you can come home right after work instead of going to Rolling Greens, that would be much appreciated. Because I have a surprise up my sleeve for you."

"Nothing too strenuous. You heard what Sylvester said when you got out of surgery."

"Yes, Finn, I heard her. And it's not really that much. Just get home right away."

"I will; I promise."

"Good. I'll be waiting." She smiled and walked into the bathroom to change clothes before she left.

"Ah, Dr. Hudson." Hiram said, coming into Rachel's room. "Is she being discharged today?"

"She already signed her papers, Mr. Berry. She's in the middle getting changed now." Finn looked down at Rachel's discharge papers and signed something. "Are you and the other Mr. Berry taking her home?"

"Leroy is. I needed to come in to check on something in the clinic. I thought I saw something on Rachel's chart about a consult a few weeks ago. I just wanted to find out what it was about."

Finn stopped dead in his tracks. Rachel hadn't told her dads about the almost pregnancy? Well, he certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell them.

"Well, I don't know anything about it, either. So if you came to me for answers, I'm sorry, I don't have a clue."

"Have a clue about what?" Rachel asked, coming out from the bathroom as she pulled her hair into a ponytail.

"There's my favorite daughter. While we wait for your father, I have a question for you. Why did you stop in the clinic a few weeks ago for a consult?"

Finn noticed Rachel's eyes widen slightly. "Oh, I needed my flu shot. Can't work here in the hospital without a flu shot. Finn, have you gotten yours yet?" Rachel said, effectively taking the heat off of her.

"Oh, yeah. I got it around the same time you did. Hopefully I'm not getting sick with it again this year."

"Smart choice, Finn. Anyway, are you taking me home today, or is Daddy?"

"Actually, Mr. Berry, I get off from work in about ten minutes. If you wanted to have a nice night with Mr. Berry, I could take Rachel home. Especially since she said the two of you live all the way out on Long Island and Rach is my roommate."

"Finn, that's a very nice offer, but you don't really have to do that. Besides, seeing Rachel is a privilege for her father and I." Leroy said, coming into the room. "Rachela, I'm so glad you're able to come home today. Now, your father and I were talking last night, and if you need us, it's a long drive from Long Island."

"What are you saying?"

"We think it would be helpful that, during your recovery, your father and I move into the house with you. Just to make sure there aren't any complications."

Rachel looked shocked. "No, you really don't need to do that. I live in a house with a whole bunch of other doctors. And I come to work and I'm surrounded by more doctors. Daddies, I love and appreciate the offer, but I am fine. And while I'm sure you'd love to drive me home and make sure I'm okay, but Long Island is forty-five minutes away without traffic, and right now it's rush hour, which means it's going to be a lot longer than that. You hate traffic, so I suggest you both head out and try to get home to enjoy a nice dinner together, while Finn takes me home and makes sure nothing bad arises from the surgery. Please, Daddies."

Hiram and Leroy shared a look with each other.

"It is starting to get a little late, Hiram." Leroy said, taking his husband's hand. "You can trust Finn, because he made a good decision to come work at McKinley and not at that stupid St. John's." Leroy walked over to Rachel and kissed her cheek. "You call us if you need anything."

"Of course I will." Rachel smiled at her dads. "Do you want me to wait in the lobby for you, Finn?"

"Yeah, that's fine. I just have a few more patients I need to see then we can head home."

"Well, thank you, Finn. That's nice of you." Hiram said. "Now, I suppose we should be on our way back to the house. Call if you need anything." he reminded.

"I will. Enjoy your night." Rachel said, smiling at them. They each kissed her cheek and left.

Once they were out of the room, Rachel let out a sigh of relief and sat down on one of the chairs. "Thank God I thought of the flu shot. I did not need them to know I thought I was knocked up with the competition's baby."

"Yeah, I was impressed you thought of that so quickly."

"I took an acting class once. I thought it would be good to control my emotions when talking with a patient. So far it's doing me a lot of good. But we'll see how well it goes during residency and beyond." She stood up from the chair. "Well, I'll go wait in the lobby and I'll see you in a few minutes." She gave him a sly smile. "See you later, Dr. Hudson." She left the room, making sure to sway her hips as she walked out of the room.

Finn let out a chuckle and looked back at Rachel's release papers. After she signed her name, she included a small star at the end of her name. He noticed she did that a lot, actually. And she had some sort of obsession with gold stars. They covered the walls of her room back at the house, she stuck two gold star stickers on her tennis shoes for work, and her locker here at the hospital had tons of cut out gold stars hung all over the inside.

Maybe it was some kind of Rachel Berry fetish.

"So, why did you need me home right after work? Because Puck is convinced that I'm sick for missing drinks at Rolling Greens for the third night in a row." Finn said, taking his jacket off when he got back to the house with Rachel.

"Because instead of disgusting bar food for dinner tonight, I'm cooking for us." Rachel said, looking for something in one of the cabinets.

"Uh, Rach, are you sure that's a good idea? Last time you wanted to cook for us, you almost set the house on fire because you forgot about the rice."

"For your information, it is also partly Noah's fault because he distracted me. And I'm not really cooking, it's more like I just have to heat things up. It's not all that hard to make chicken noodle soup." She pulled out a can of Campbell's soup and began searching a drawer for a can opener. "You go relax and I'll make dinner."

"You sure? You just had surgery, shouldn't I be the one making dinner?"

"Finn, making chicken noodle soup will not cause me to pop my stitches. I will be fine. Grab a beer and go watch some baseball game on the TV. I think the Yankees are playing."

"You know, you're my favorite girlfriend for saying that."

"What? For letting you watch a Yankees game? Finn, I've lived in New York City my entire life. The Yankees are the dominate team here."

"Ten years ago, Puck would have kicked your ass for saying that."

"Thank God he converted to being a Yankees fan before moving into my house. I will not have any Mets fan living in my house." Rachel said as she poured the soup into a pan. "Go enjoy the game and update me on anything that happens when I bring dinner out."

"Will do, Rach."

"I'm so glad your ability to make chicken noodle soup is much better than making chicken and wild rice." Finn said as he took a bit of the ice cream sandwich that Rachel brought out for dessert.

"You have to be a horrible cook to mess up chicken noodle soup."

"Yeah, well, my roommate in college burnt a piece of chicken once."

"What?" Rachel asked, giggling. "How the hell does that happen?"

"I don't even know. After that, I offered to order pizza every time he got lonely and felt homesick."

Rachel laughed again and took a bit of her ice cream sandwich. "This was a really fun first date. Maybe for our second date I'll actually be able to eat real food."

"Whoa, Rach, this is so not our first date. Our first date is going to be at Sardi's. Remember the conversation at the hospital?"

"Okay, I look forward to our first _real_ date. But then what should we call this? A predate?"

"Sure, this was our predate. But I suppose there's something I should tell you before our dinner at Sardi's."

"This sounds serious. Is everything okay?"

"How do you feel about going out with someone who has a kid?"

"You have a kid?"

"Yeah. A daughter. Her name is Zoey and she's four. I don't really get to see her that much because her and her mother live out in California." Finn fished around in his pocket for his wallet to show Rachel a picture of Zoey. He flipped through a few pictures then showed one to Rachel. "This is her."

"Finn, she's adorable. And it's not a problem. I love little kids. My mom adopted a baby a few years ago and she's just the cutest little thing in the entire world." Rachel gave Finn a quick kiss. "And I'm fine dating a guy who has a daughter. Especially one as cute as Zoey is."

"Really, Rach? That's usually a deal breaker for some people."

"Not for me, Finn Hudson. Do you think I could meet her sometime in the future?"

"I definitely think so."

Rachel smiled and kissed Finn.


	7. Magic Floating In The Air

**Chapter Seven: Magic Floating In The Air**

**Author's Note: Thanks again for the wonderful reviews that this story has been getting. It makes me excited to check my email and see a new review has come through, and I love reading them all. I was inspired to have the housemates get a kitten after I remembered the picture that Cory tweeted last year of Lea holding a kitten. And if any of you would like to know, Penelope is the name of my kitten I got about a month ago, so that's where the idea came from. As always, I don't own any of the Glee characters, I just love to write about them. The chapter title comes from Breathe by Faith Hill.**

**And a quick side note: I probably will not be able to update again until some point on Monday due to a busy work schedule on Sunday.**

"Hey, Rachel, can I ask you something?" Kurt asked one morning as the two of them were eating breakfast at the house.

"Yeah, sure. What's going on?" Rachel took a bite of her banana and waited for Kurt to continue talking.

"I was thinking that we need a pet around the house. Because we're all uptight when we get home, and I feel like having a pet would help us unwind. I was thinking that we get a kitten."

"I think that's a great idea. And since Sylvester is insisting I'm not allowed to come to work until Thursday, I'll go pick one out today."

"If you could, would you get a girl? And when they ask you for a name, could you name her Penelope?"

"I love the name Penelope." Rachel said, taking another bite of banana. "Absolutely. She'll be the most loved little kitten in all of New York."

"Who's going to be the most loved kitten in all of New York?" Quinn said, shuffling into the kitchen. "Where the hell is the coffee?"

"It's still in the process of being made. And our kitten is going to be the most loved kitten in all of New York." Kurt said, taking a bite of pineapple from his fruit platter he made himself for breakfast.

"Cool. We're getting a cat." Quinn said, a little less enthusiastically as Kurt and Rachel had hoped.

"Do you not want a kitten? Because we just wanted one to help us unwind after work." Rachel said.

"No, a kitten's fine. Just give me time to wake up a little more." Quinn stared at the coffee pot, as if willing it to fill up quicker than it already was. "Damn it." she muttered, pulling out her pager. "Kurt, we have to go now. Sylvester sent out an SOS. You'll probably be getting one soon."

Sure enough, Kurt's pager started going off and the rest of the house was filled with the sounds of beeps and pings.

Rachel's pager laid silent on the countertop.

"I wish my appendix decided to burst when I was ten. Maybe I could have been included on this SOS too."

"What the hell is Sylvester's problem? I could have been sleeping for another ten minutes." Puck said. "And why the hell is there no coffee?"

"Patience, Noah, the coffee is in the process of being made. But Quinn gets her coffee first, she's been waiting."

Quinn waggled her eyebrows at Puck. She saw enough coffee was sitting in the pot and poured herself a cup. "Your turn, Puckerman."

Puck made a face and poured himself a cup of coffee. "Berry, you're so lucky that you're not cleared to work again. Because if Sylvester is paging interns with an SOS, it's going to be a long day. Hudson's complaining because he has to cancel his date with the mystery girl."

Rachel's heart sank. She didn't think that an SOS call meant she wouldn't get her Sardi's date with Finn.

"Any idea who this mystery girl even is?" Blaine said, joining everyone in the kitchen. "Puck, you have to know something. You're Finn's best friend."

"Yeah, you would think that would be enough to get me details about the girl, but I've gotten nothing. Not even a name."

Rachel bent her head down and smiled. Thank God Finn was still cool with keeping their relationship a secret.

"You guys, this isn't an appropriate conversation to be having in front of Rachel." Kurt said, glaring at Puck and Blaine.

"No, it's fine. Finn and I are friends, and just because he's dating some girl doesn't mean you can't talk about it in front of me. I'm sure I'll end up meeting her whenever Finn is ready to introduce her to everyone." Rachel got up and threw her banana peel away. "Well, you all enjoy your SOS call from Sylvester. I'm going back to bed."

"See that? That's why we all need to come down with appendicitis. We get days off of work and don't get annoying ass pages from Sylvester." Puck said as Rachel left the kitchen.

Rachel smiled and rolled her eyes as she went up the stairs. Now she had to face Finn and hear the news that their date to Sardi's was cancelled.

"Hey, Rach, have you heard? We got an SOS from Sylvester, so I think our date is going to be cancelled tonight." Finn said, coming out from his room.

"Yeah, I heard. It's okay. We're doctors. I get it. We'll get our Sardi's date at some point. Now go before I make you late for work." She smiled at him as he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Good luck."

"Thanks, Rach. I'll see if I can sneak out at some point and give you a call to see how you're doing."

"Okay. But if I don't answer the phone, I'm either sleeping or out getting our kitten." Rachel said, squealing on the last word.

"We're getting a kitten?"

"Yes, and Kurt and I have picked out the name Penelope. Now you need to hurry before you make everyone else late. I'll be fine all by myself. Go to work and save some lives."

"You're jealous that you aren't getting to work on this SOS, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Now go before I get even more jealous." Rachel watched Finn walk off and smiled as he walked away.

"Welcome to your new home, Penelope!" Rachel said, struggling to open the house door with all of the things she needed for the kitten. She looked down at the small kitten and smiled. "Come on, pretty girl. I'll give you the grand tour." She dropped the kitten's toys and food and held Penelope closer to her.

She heard the doorbell ring and felt Penelope tense up in her arms. "It's okay, baby. You can go get to know the house on your own for a little bit." Rachel started to put her down on the ground, then decided against it. She didn't want the new kitten to run off and hide somewhere.

The doorbell rang again and Rachel walked over to answer it. "Is there something I can help you with?" Rachel said when she opened the door. She said it a little coolly, but this person was interrupting Rachel's time to get her cat acclimated to her new home.

"I need to talk to Finn. Finn Hudson. I've been told he lives here. So is he here right now?" The woman looked frazzled and ran a hand through her hair.

"He's a little unavailable. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Mommy, is Daddy there?" A little girl with brown hair and green eyes ran up onto the front porch.

Rachel looked at the little girl and noticed she looked an awful lot like Finn.

This had to be Zoey.

"I need to talk to him right away. Is there a chance I can wait here for him?"

Rachel froze, trying to figure out what to do. If Finn found out Zoey and her mother was here and Rachel didn't let them in, bad things could happen to the fledgling relationship. But Rachel had no clue how Finn felt about Zoey's mother, and if he came home and saw her sitting on the couch, bad things could happen to the fledgling relationship too.

No matter what Rachel Berry did, she would be screwed.

"Look, Mommy, she has a kitten!" Zoey said, pointing at Penelope.

"Yeah, this is my little kitten. Her name is Penelope. If you want to come inside and play with her you can. And you can come in too." Rachel said to Zoey's mom.

"Great. Thank you." She stepped into the house and held out her hand. "I'm Julia. And this is Zoey."

"I'm Rachel; I'm one of Finn's coworkers." _And his current girlfriend_.

"It's nice to meet you. So is Finn here? There's something I have to talk to him about."

"Everyone got an SOS call this morning." Rachel said, watching Zoey play with the kitten. "If you'd like you can wait until he's home, but there's a chance it's going to be awhile. Can I get you anything to drink?"

"No, that's fine. And if you don't mind me asking, if you're his coworker, why didn't you get called in, too?"

"I just had surgery and haven't been cleared to work yet." Rachel looked over at Zoey. "She's really cute."

"Thank you. I think Dave, my fiancé and I did a good job."

Rachel raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. If Julia didn't know that Rachel knew who she was, Rachel wasn't going to question her on the paternity. At least Rachel knew that Zoey was Finn's daughter, not this Dave person.

"That's kind of what I needed to see Finn about. You're sure you have no idea how long it will be until he gets back?"

"No clue." Rachel mumbled.

"Hey, Rach, I think we'll still have time for our date at Sardi's. So go get ready and I'll freshen…" Finn trailed off when he saw Julia and Rachel sitting on the couch. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you about something. And I couldn't do it over the phone." Julia turned to Rachel and glared at her. "And you're dating him?"

"Don't turn this around onto Rach. She's done nothing wrong here. Now what the hell are you doing here?"

"We have to talk about Zoey." Julia said.

"Um, I'll go check on Penelope and see how she's settling in to the house." Rachel said, wanting to give the two parents some space to talk things over.

Although Rachel had a feeling there would be more fighting than talking.

"Rach, wake up." She squirmed in bed and rolled over. She smiled when she saw Finn. "How'd things go with Julia?"

"Not very well."

"Well, do you want to talk about it?" Rachel asked, moving around on the bed so Finn could fit on it with her.

"Not really." He looked down to the end of the bed where Penelope was sleeping. "So, that's the fluff ball?"

"Her name is Penelope. Kurt wouldn't appreciate you calling her that." Rachel said, curling into Finn's side.

"I think she's cute. You'll just have to be careful what Puck calls her. He's not all that big on cats. He's more into big dogs."

"Well, that's not what we wanted. Besides, we aren't home enough to have a dog. At least cats are somewhat independent and don't care what you do." Rachel said.

"Sorry about our date to Sardi's being cancelled. I knew you wanted to go."

"It's okay. So what was the SOS about? And how did you get home before everyone else?"

"There was some big trauma that happened and Sylvester needed us to be there. And I'd say the rest of our roommates are still out drinking."

"And Julia and Zoey?"

"Gone and staying at a hotel. Zoey really likes you. She says she liked that you colored with her while Julia made a phone call."

"Well, I thought I'd do something nice for your daughter. And I didn't know you were on bad terms with Julia or I wouldn't have let her in."

"It's fine. At least you got to spend quality time with my daughter and thankfully she likes you. I'd hate to be with someone she didn't like."

Rachel looked up at Finn. "You think we're going to be together forever?"

"Rach, my love, I know we're going to be together forever."


	8. Both Hands Tied Behind My Back

**Chapter Eight: Both Hands Tied Behind My Back**

**Author's Note: So, I just read the fate of Finn Hudson and it depressed me. And when I get intense feelings, I tend to write more so hopefully I'll be cranking out chapter a little more frequently now. This chapter has a slight time jump in it, and it picks up around Christmastime, hence the Rockettes reference. As always, I don't own the characters. The chapter title comes from Battlefield by Jordin Sparks. **

"Hey, Finn." Rachel heard someone say at work a few months after his encounter with Julia. She turned around and saw Kitty, the bitchy head nurse, walking straight towards Finn with a determined look in her eyes.

"Um, hi, Kitty. Is everything okay?" Finn said, taking his eyes off of a patient's chart.

"Well, I just had a question for you. I got tickets to the Rockettes show tonight at Radio City. And I was wondering if you wanted to join me."

Rachel looked over at Finn and raised her eyebrow.

Finn would be going to the show that night.

He just wouldn't be going with Kitty. He was going with Rachel.

"You know, Kitty. I would love to go, but I have a rule about dating coworkers. I just don't do it. It makes things awkward and could lead to a hostile work environment. So thanks for the reason, but I just can't break my own rule."

Rachel watched with satisfaction as Kitty's confident look on her face fell.

"Oh. Well. Fine then." Kitty walked towards Rachel and glared at her. "What are you looking at, man hands?"

Rachel rolled her hands. She'd heard that nickname for her many times and truth be told, it didn't even faze her anymore.

"Nothing. It was just entertaining watching you make a fool of yourself. Now I have to go, I have patients that I need to see." Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked towards one of her patient's rooms.

"Good morning, Mrs. Walker. How are you feeling this morning?" Rachel asked.

"I'm a little worried about the surgery. I'm sure that Dr. Sylvester is qualified to do the appendix removal but…"

"Mrs. Walker, let me assure you that everything will be fine. In fact, a few months ago, Dr. Sylvester did the same procedure for me, and I'm doing fine. So there's a second opinion from a very satisfied patient." Rachel said, smiling at her patient. She heard the door open and saw the anesthesiologist come into the room. "Now, this guy is going to give you some of the best medicine you will ever get. And I will see you when you come out of surgery."

"Thank you, Dr. Berry. Will you be helping with the surgery?"

"Oh, I'll just be watching. Dr. Sylvester will have complete control over the entire surgery." She smiled at her patient and left the room. When she got back into the corridor, she saw Finn talking with another one of the interns. She smiled and walked over to talk to him.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hudson, do you mind if I get a second opinion about a patient?" Rachel asked.

"Of course. Come on, we'll go somewhere quieter where we can talk things over." The two of them walked into a supply closet.

"This is your idea of some place quiet?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What, you got a better idea?" Finn said.

"Not really." Rachel smiled at Finn and wrapped her arms around his neck. He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you, Finn Hudson."

"Not nearly as much as I love you, Rachel Berry." Finn said.

Finn and Rachel heard the door to the closet open and heard two sets of footsteps come into the closet and join the pair.

Finn's eyes widened as Rachel craned her neck to see who had come in to join them.

"Are you sure no one knows about us?"

"Shh, Quinn, it's okay. No one suspects a thing."

Finn and Rachel stared at each other in shock. Puck and Quinn were secretly dating.

Just like Finn and Rachel were.

"What should we do?" Finn mouthed to Rachel. She shrugged in return.

"I'm serious, Puck, no one can find out about this. I'm still technically with Sam."

"It's fine, Quinn."

Rachel started to back up and instead ran into a tray of syringes, which all promptly fell to the ground.

Finn watched as Puck and Quinn broke apart.

"Who the hell is in here?" Puck growled.

Finn and Rachel stepped out from the shadows. "Finn, there's the medical towels that Sylvester was looking for." Rachel said, grabbing a pack. "I knew they had to be in here somewhere. I just can't believe I missed them when I looked for them myself."

"Well, you know what they say, two heads are better than one, although in this case I suppose it's four eyes are better than two." Finn let out a nervous chuckle and rubbed the back of his head.

"Finn, Rachel, you can't tell anyone about what you saw." Quinn said, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "If Sam found out about this…it would kill him."

"I won't say anything." Rachel said, holding her pinkie out for Quinn. "Pinkie swear."

Quinn looped her pinkie around Rachel's then looked at Finn. "You have to tell me that you won't tell anyone either, Finn."

"I won't, Quinn. You have my word." Finn said.

"I guess this supply closet holds a lot of secret hook ups in it." Puck said, eyeing Finn and Rachel.

"What? No, Puck, we were trying to find the towels." Rachel said, once again thankfully that she had those acting classes under her belt.

"Mhmm. Sure." He eyed the two of them one more time, then left the closet.

"Ready to see the Rockettes?" Rachel asked, coming downstairs to see Finn waiting for her in the living room.

"Rach, you look amazing." He stood up from his spot on the couch.

"Thank you, Finn. You look rather dapper yourself." She smiled at him. "So, you ready to go see the show?"

"Absolutely. You know, I've never seen them live before."

"Well, that's part of the reason we're going tonight." Rachel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Now we should leave now before our roommates start pestering us."

"Right. Just let me grab my coat and—ouch! Stupid ass cat." Finn said, watching Penelope run away from him. "That's the third time today she's been at my feet and I've almost stepped on her."

"You need to be more careful. She's only eight months old, Finn." Rachel said, grabbing their coats from the hall closet.

"I'll try harder next time." Finn grumbled.

"That taxi ride took way longer than it needed to." Rachel said when they found their seats at Radio City Music Hall. "I think the taxi driver was drunk. Or high. Or a combination of the two."

Finn chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Or it could be that you babbled the entire ride down here. I'm used to your babbling, but other people aren't and sometimes you give them a headache."

"Did I give you a headache when we first met?" Rachel asked, laying her head on Finn's shoulder.

"A little. But I was more taken away by your effortless beauty and your caring personality." Finn said, giving her a kiss on the check.

"Aww, thank you, Finn. I'll be back, I need to use the restroom and check on something." She gave him her megawatt smile and left the auditorium.

"Finn, I thought you said you don't date coworkers." A familiar voice rang out behind Finn. He turned around and saw Kitty standing a few rows back. "And you can't tell me that the two of you are just friends. Not after the conversation I just heard between the two of you." Kitty came over and stood right next to Finn. "So if you can hang out with that drab girl outside of work, you and I can have a little fun tonight at the show." She stretched up on her toes and pressed her lips against Finn's.

Of course that was the moment Rachel chose to come back into the auditorium.

"I knew it was too good to be true." She looked down at her ticket and ripped it. "There's no need for this tonight." She turned around and left the hall, hailing the first taxi she could find.

She completely missed the part where Finn pushed Kitty off and told her that he was completely in love with Rachel.

She had the taxi drop her off at the first house she could think of that didn't give her any memory of Finn. So when she stood on the doorstep of Jesse S. James's apartment, she knew he would never find her.

Rachel took a few deep breaths, then knocked once, twice, three times on his apartment door.

"Well, well, well. Rachel Barbra Berry is standing on my doorstep. I wasn't expecting to see you here." He leaned against the doorframe. "What can I do for you on this fine New York winter night?"

"I needed to talk to someone. And for some reason, you were the first person to pop into my mind." She took another deep breath. "I need your help with something."

It was nearly three in the morning when Rachel opened the door to her house. Expecting everyone to already be asleep, she quietly crept through the house.

"Rach, there are you. What happened during the show? You went to the bathroom and never came back." Finn said, sitting up from his spot on the couch where he was sleeping.

Rachel looked at Finn and felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes. She couldn't believe what she had just done.

"I'm sorry, Finn. I'm so, so sorry for everything."

"It's okay, I figured you were sick or something. I'm glad you made it home okay. Do you need me to help you get to bed?"

"I saw you kissing Kitty at the show. And I got jealous and I tore up my ticket and left." Rachel said, verbalizing the beginning of her worst nightmare. "And I got in a cab and told the cab driver to take me to this apartment out in Tribeca. I don't even know why I gave him that address but I did."

"Wait, who lives out in Tribeca?"

"Jesse St. James does. And I went to his apartment and we started talking, and we were drinking, and then…" Rachel took a sharp breath in as more tears started falling down her face. "And then we had sex."

Rachel couldn't bear to look at Finn. Because she knew that anger would be all over his face and she couldn't stand to see that on her Finn's face.

"You and Jesse…what the hell, Rachel?" Finn said, feeling his lip quiver. He couldn't believe this was happening to him.

"I'm so sorry." Rachel said, trying to blink through the tears. "We should get some sleep and talk about everything in the morning."

"There's nothing to talk about." Finn said, anger slashing through every word he spoke. "We're done."

"Wh-wh-what?" Rachel stuttered out. "We're done?"

"You cheated on me, Rach. I can't forgive that easily."

"You cheated on me first! I saw that kiss with Kitty. It wasn't fun to see that, Finn."

"If you had just waited like two seconds after you saw the kiss, you would have seen that I pushed her off. Instead you jump to conclusions and go off and sleep with your ex-boyfriend. How could you do that to me, Rach? I've never felt like this before. Not even when Julia told me she cheated on me and even that didn't hurt as much as this does." He took a deep breath. "And we aren't going to talk in the morning because I won't be here in the morning. I'm moving out. And when we're at work, you and I aren't going to talk to each other unless we really have to. I never thought you could make me feel this way." He grabbed his coat from the arm of the couch, gave Rachel one final glare, and left the house.

Rachel managed to hold it together until she heard the screen door slam shut before she collapsed to the ground in utter hysterics.

She had just messed up the best thing in her life.

**Author's Note: Please don't kill me. They'll be back together in a few chapters, I promise!**


	9. Everything's Different

**Chapter Nine: Everything's Different**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who leaves behind wonderful reviews and thanks to everyone who alerted and favorited the story. Don't worry, Finn and Rachel won't be broken up for long (maybe two or three chapters after this one, four at the most). And since I'm in a good mood on this dreary Monday where I live, I'm updating earlier than I thought. As always, I don't own the Glee characters. The chapter title come from Light in Your Eyes by Sheryl Crow.**

"Chief Schuester, there's something I need to ask you." Rachel said the morning after her breakup with Finn.

"Come on in, Rachel." She went into his office and shut the door. "What's going on?"

"I'd like to request a transfer off of Dr. Sylvester's service. I don't care who's service I get moved to, but I can't be with Sylvester anymore."

"Did she say something to you?"

"No, Dr. Sylvester is a wonderful mentor. It's not her, I can assure you of that."

"Well, then I don't see what the problem is."

Rachel sighed. "Okay. Thanks, Chief Schuester."

"Rachel, is everything okay? You just seem a little off today."

"Not really, sir. But I won't let it get in the way of my job."

"Spoken like a true Berry. And if you need anything, you can come and talk to me."

"I know. Thanks again, Chief." Rachel gave him a small smile and left his office, almost running into Finn.

"God, Rachel, watch where you're going." Finn snarled. "Is Schuester in there? I need to talk to him about getting off Sylvester's service. God knows I can't work with you anymore."

"He won't do it. I already asked." Rachel said quietly.

"Hudson, Berry, I've been looking for you for almost fifteen minutes. Come on, we have a surgery to prep for." Sylvester said, walking down the corridor of the hospital.

"I can't believe I have to work with you when I can barely stand to look and talk to you." Finn hissed, not looking in Rachel's direction.

"How many times do I have to say I'm sorry? I swear it was all one horrible mistake." Rachel said. She felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes again, and she pinched her nose to try to stop them from falling.

"Rachel, it's not like you were late for a date. You fucking slept with fucking Jesse St. James. And I don't think I can ever forgive you for that." Finn said, stopping in front of Rachel. She looked up at him and saw he had tears of his own forming. "So just do us both a favor and stop talking to me."

"I could go to Columbia. That way I could still live here in the house and see you all every day." Rachel said that night, sitting on the couch doing research on different hospitals in the area that still wanted the fabulous Rachel Berry to work in their hospital.

"I don't even understand why you're leaving McKinley. And it looks like a severe pay cut if you go to Columbia." Kurt said, looking at a spreadsheet that Rachel made.

"Yeah, but I'd be working with Dr. Emerson, and he's a good friend of my daddies. And they always said if I wasn't working at McKinley, I had to be working at Columbia. And McKinley isn't as good of a fit for me as I thought it would be."

"But, Rachel, just a few days ago you were saying you loved it there."

"Well, I was lying. It's so hard to work there when my dads used to work there. I'm under pressure all the time. And I just can't do it."

"I think it has to be something else." Kurt said, looking over Rachel's shoulder at something she was typing up on her laptop. "Did you notice something was wrong with Finn today?"

Rachel's heart stopped. "No. I didn't." She went back to typing something.

"Oh my God. Rachel Barbra Berry, you were having sex with Finn Hudson!"

Rachel's head shot up. "What? No. No. I wasn't. That's so not even close."

"Friends with benefits?"

"No, Kurt. Finn and I weren't anything. And I don't think we're anything. Not anymore."

"But were you something before?"

Rachel slowly nodded her head.

"Oh. My. God. Rachel, why didn't you tell any of us? Or, better than that, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want anyone to know we were dating. Because I knew people would make a big deal out of it."

"No one would have made a big deal about it. I can't believe you and Finn were dating. God, I feel like the signs were there and we were all oblivious to them. When did you guys start dating?"

"Right after I had surgery."

"Rachel! You've been dating for months and I'm just know learning about it? How could you do this to your best friend?"

"Well, we were dating for months. That all went up in flames last night. That's why I don't want to work at McKinley anymore." Rachel looked out the window and saw Finn's car pull up into the driveway. "It's just too awkward." Rachel looked down at her computer and the papers scattered around the couch. "I'm going to head up to my room and finish looking things over."

"Rachel, you have a phone call." Finn said, coming into her room to give her the phone. "But make it quick because there's something I need to do too."

Rachel rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from Finn. "This is Rachel speaking."

"Rachel, hello, it's Dr. Emerson from Columbia."

"Hello, sir. How are you doing?"

"I'm doing wonderful, thank you for asking. Now, what's this I hear about you leaving McKinley to come work here at Columbia?"

"I was hoping I'd still be able to get into the program. And to work under your wing would be amazing."

"Well, I'm sorry Rachel, but we just filled up our last intern spot last night. I wish I had better news for you."

"No, Dr. Emerson, it's fine. I knew I should have followed my gut and gone with Columbia instead of McKinley. Oh well, there's always residency."

"Yes, that is always true. Will we be seeing your application in the coming months?"

"Oh, of course. I look forward to seeing you again. Goodnight, Dr. Emerson." Rachel hung up the phone and noticed that Finn was still standing in her room. "Here's the phone. You didn't have to wait in here for me."

"You're leaving McKinley?"

"Well, you heard the conversation. I'm not leaving McKinley until the end of our internship, which ends in a few months. And what happened to not wanting to talk to me?"

"Fine, I guess I won't be taking an interest in any of my roommate's lives anymore. Sorry for making an attempt to be cordial."

"Well, it's funny that you want to be cordial after you learn that I may not be at McKinley for much longer. You need to pick what you want Finn, because I'm getting whiplash from your changing feelings." Rachel took a deep breath. "Clearly, you and me dating wasn't a good idea. But we were really good friends. I wonder if that would ever happen again."

"Well, right now I don't think it would work out."

"Oh." Rachel said. "I had a feeling you would say that."

"But, I think if we give it some time, there's a high chance that we'll be friends again."

Rachel smiled at him. "I'd like that a lot, Finn."

Finn gave Rachel a half smile and nodded his head. "Cool. So, as my friend, would you like to have pizza with me?"

"I'd love to have pizza. I'm actually starving."

"Think you could help me eat a Supreme from the shop down the street?"

"Probably." Rachel said, getting up from her bed to grab her purse. "But let's go because I'm starving, and Joe always stops making the dough for the Supreme sized pizzas at nine."

Finn looked down at his watch to look at the time. "You know, when we finish, it'll only be around eight thirty. Wanna go see a movie or something?"

"I would but I have to be at the hospital at five. So after the pizza, I plan on coming home and sleeping as much as possible. Maybe some other time?"

"Yeah, definitely." Finn said.


	10. I Don't Like Your Girlfriend

**Chapter Ten: I Don't Like Your Girlfriend **

**Author's Note: So, I decided to do another time jump again, so this chapter takes place around the middle of April, when baseball season starts. Finn and Rachel's reunion will most likely happen in the next chapter or the chapter after that. In this chapter, we get to see a little bit of jealous Rachel, which is one of my favorite sides of Rachel's personality. And for future reference, Edward's is a diner in New York and has amazing food, so check it out if you go to New York (it's in Tribeca). As always, I don't own Glee. The chapter title comes from Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne.**

"Okay, team, gather around." Chief Schuester said on the day of the annual McKinley versus St. John's softball game. "Now, some of you may not know this, but we have not lost to St. John's in fifteen years. This year, if we win, it will be our sweet sixteen." Schuester looked around at all of the team members. "Now, I realize that one of our team members is dating someone from St. John's, but we can't let that fact stop us from winning our game. Understand that, Hudson?"

Everyone turned around to give Finn a dirty glare. Everyone except for Rachel. She just grimaced and felt like she was going to throw up.

"Trust me, Chief, Liz and I have only been dating for like a month. I'm not going to throw the game. I'll be giving my best efforts today." Finn said, trying to appease his teammates.

"That's all we can ask for, Finn. Now let's get out there and kick some St. John ass!"

The team started cheering as they took their places. Rachel and Kurt started walking out to the outfield, where Schuester told them to play.

"You know, I'm not a big fan of baseball." Kurt said. "I really just went because it would give me time to bond with my dad. Except after a while, he got tired of telling me about every little detail that we stopped going." Kurt looked over to see Rachel trying to avoid eye contact with Jesse and flat out staring at Finn on the pitcher's mound. "Earth to Rachel. Are you even paying attention to the game? Or better yet, are you paying attention to me?"

"What? Sorry, Kurt. I got a little…distracted. This is like my worst nightmare. Finn and Jesse in the same place at the same time? This isn't going to end well." She took a deep breath. "Why did I have to be such a fool? Why didn't I just stay at Radio City Music Hall and—"

"Where is this coming from? Rachel, you know I wanted you and Finn to be together, but I have to say, you and Zach make a pretty good couple."

"You are just saying that because Zach is from the Anthony family. And the Anthony family just happens to give away one of the most prestigious awards in medicine to promising interns. And I don't know about Zach. He's nice and all, but…I don't know…there's something…missing about him."

"Could it be that he's not a sexy six-three intern at McKinley Hospital? While I think that five-ten blondes are nice, he's just not Finn. I'll always secretly root for you and Finn, because you're Finchel and that means something to me.

"What the hell is Finchel?" Rachel asked, crinkling her eyebrows.

"It's Finn and Rachel put together. How do you not know what that is?"

"Probably because I don't think about couple names for a couple that isn't even together anymore."

"Okay, well then, does Zachel mean anything to you?"

"Let me guess, that's my couple name with Zach." Rachel said.

"Exactly. You catch on quick. Watch out!" Kurt screeched as the baseball came flying towards them. Thankfully, the head of plastic surgery caught the ball before it could land on Kurt and Rachel.

"Hey, Finn, let's make this interesting." Liz said, stepping up to bat. "The loser of the game has to buy the winner dinner tonight."

Rachel pursed her lips. Finn shouldn't be making deals like that with the enemy. She should be making plans with Finn because he's her boyfriend and she wants to celebrate their win.

"You've got yourself a deal." Finn said. He waited for the catcher to get into place, then threw the ball. Strike one.

"What's so great about her anyway?" Rachel asked, squinting her eyes at Liz. "I mean, sure, she's pretty. But she's not spectacular. Like, anyone can meet someone like Liz."

"It probably takes awhile to get over a Rachel Berry." Kurt said, giving Rachel a knowing look. "So he has to settle for someone to help him get over her."

"It's my fault he has to get over me." Rachel muttered.

"Well, when you really think about it, it's Kitty and her stupid flirtation's fault." Kurt said, making Rachel give a slight smile.

"Thanks for that, Kurt. Even though it's not really true."

Kurt and Rachel both looked up in time to see the baseball that Liz hit flying straight towards them.

"I've got it!" Rachel yelled, an idea starting to form in her head. The ball landed in her glove and she immediately threw it to first base. But instead of the ball landing in Puck's glove, the ball hit Liz right in the nose.

Exactly what Rachel had planned.

She put a shocked look on her face. "Oh my God. I can't believe I just did that." She looked over at Kurt who was cracking up laughing.

"That…was…priceless!" He doubled over and started laughing even harder. "You nailed her right in the nose. Hilarious!"

"Kurt, it's not funny." Rachel said, even though all she wanted to do was start laughing too. "I could have really hurt her."

Puck came jogging over to where Kurt and Rachel were standing. "Whoa, Rachel Berry, fucking badass. That was a great shot at her face!"

"I didn't try to, Noah. It was a complete accident." Rachel said.

"Say whatever you want, Berry, but I know the real truth." He winked at her and jogged back to his spot at first base.

"Finn, I'm so sorry!" Rachel said when he walked in the door after the baseball game. "I didn't mean for that to happen at all, I swear to God, I tried to get it into Puck's glove but I guess my aim was off and I'm just really, really sorry. Is she okay?"

"Her nose is broken but Dr. Sweeney got it set. Now it's just a little harder to kiss her."

"Okay. Good. Because it really was an accident. I promise. No matter what Noah says."

"I believe you. And Puck is still hung up on thinking that you and I should be together."

"That's crazy." Rachel said, trying to laugh it off. "Because you and me…best friends for life."

Finn smiled at her. "That's right. See, it doesn't matter what other people think. As long as the two of us know the limits of our relationship, we're going to be fine."

"Right. You're exactly right, Finn." Rachel saw headlights flash in the driveway. "Well, there's my date for the night. Again, I'm really sorry for hitting Liz in the nose. Completely unintentional." She smiled at him. "So, I'll see you later tonight."

"Oh, actually, you won't. I have my first night shift tonight. I'm actually on my way out for the night."

"Really? Wow. Good luck. The night shifts always suck because there's really not much to do. When I had one a few nights ago, I ended up down in the cafeteria eating chips until I got paged. And it was a good forty five minutes until I got paged. Then they didn't even need me."

"So, you're saying I should bring something to entertain myself?"

Rachel grabbed her purse off of the arm of the couch. "Yes. Exactly. Well, I'll see you again at some point."

"So, tell me about your biggest hopes and dreams." Zach said, walking around Central Park with Rachel after their date at Edward's.

"I want to be an attending general surgeon. And I want to get married and have kids. I want four. Two boys, two girls. I want to live in New York until I retire, then I'll probably live in Florida because I've always loved the sun."

"And when you get married, who do you see yourself marrying?"

_Finn Hudson_. "Not really. It's still a little blurry about who it's going to be. And I still have a little time before I'm ready to get married. And I really haven't met anyone who can handle me. Sometimes I'm a little diva."

Zach chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. "I guess I haven't seen the diva side of you."

"I don't have them as much as I used to. You should have seen me in high school. I was terrible."

They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"So, what's up with you and that Finn guy?" Zach asked, breaking the silence with the most painful question in the entire world. "Should I be worried about competition?"

Rachel stopped walking and turned to face Zach. "I wish I could tell you that you don't have anything to worry about. But that's not the case."

"So then, what is the case? Because I really don't like to waste my time."

"Finn and I used to date each other a few months back. And we broke up. We're friends now, and he thinks that's all we are."

"That's not exactly what you want, is it?"

"Look, Zach, you're a great guy, but I don't want to lead you on when I'm hopelessly in love with someone else."

"Well, thank you for being honest with me, Rachel." He smiled at her and started to walk away, then turned around again. "If you decide to be just friends with Finn, give me a call."

"I will, Zach. See you around the hospital world." Rachel smiled at him as he started walking towards the exit of the park.


	11. With You Is Where I Want To Be

**Chapter Eleven: With You Is Where I Want To Be**

**Author's Note: Thanks again for all the reviews! I know the last few chapters were kind of short, but this one will make up for it. The speech that Rachel makes was inspired by the speech that Lexie Grey makes to Mark Sloan in the 8x22 episode of Grey's Anatomy, and while I was writing this chapter, I had the scene playing on repeat. As always, I don't own Glee. The chapter title comes from Long Distance by Bruno Mars.**

"Who wants to help me perform a surgery to save a guy's life?" Sylvester asked when the interns were gathered around in the morning.

Immediately all of their hands shoot up in the air.

"That's what I thought. I want all of my interns to come with me. Last night, there was a massive accident on a barge and Columbia is currently at capacity, so now they are coming to us. I have seven surgeries that I have to perform today, and each of you will help me with the surgeries. "Berry, you up for the first surgery?"

"Absolutely, Dr. Sylvester. What kind of surgery is it?"

"A spleen was partially ruptured. The guy is being prepped for surgery right now. Got any questions before we go in?"

"Is there any patient history of any other surgeries? A past surgery could mess with this one." Rachel said, basically having to run in order to keep up with Sylvester.

"Good question, Berry. As far as I know, there hasn't been other surgeries. But this patient is allergic to a specific type of suture, so we have to make sure we use a different kind."

"Will that affect the way you have to do the sutures?"

"Not at all. Where's the rest of the interns?"

"I think they're trying to catch up. You're going awfully fast."

"Well, Berry, when you have seven surgeries you have to do in one day, you tend to hurry. They'll have to catch up later; we need to scrub in."

Once Rachel was in the hospital room, ready to assist Sylvester with whatever she needed, she looked up and saw Finn staring at her. He caught her eye, winked, and gave her a thumbs up. She mouthed a thank you and turned to Sylvester.

"Where would you like me, Dr. Sylvester?"

"On the other side of the patient."

Rachel nodded and stepped to the other side of the patient. She was getting a front row seat to watch one of the best doctors in the United States repair a guy's spleen.

She felt like she was walking on sunshine.

About halfway through the surgery, the heart monitor started beeping like crazy and the doctors started doing everything they could to save the guy's life.

"Dr. Sylvester, there's a small line of blood coming out from the heart. Is there a way to page cardio?"

"No time, Berry. You're going to help me stop the bleeding."

Seconds later, the bleeding in the heart and the machines weren't beeping as crazily as they were before.

"Nice find, Berry. Now let's not have something like that happen again. Let's finish this man up." Sylvester said.

"That was completely exhilarating!" Rachel said that day at lunch. "I can't wait to hear what Finn thinks about his surgery because mine was absolutely amazing. I helped save a guy's life. I can't believe I did that!"

"Berry needs to stop talking or I'm going to throw up." Puck said, barely touching any of the food on his plate.

"Noah, I'm sure that you are going to be just fine." Rachel said, taking a bite from her salad.

He muttered something under his breath then heard his pager go off. The blood drained from his face. "Shit, it's my turn. Is it a good thing or a bad thing that Finn's surgery is done already?"

"Could be either." Kurt said, taking a sip of water. "Good luck, Puck, we will be thinking the best thoughts for you."

Quinn chuckled as the rest of the table watched Puck grumble as he left the table. A few minutes after he left, Finn took his spot.

"That was the best feeling in the entire world. I've never experienced anything like that!" Finn said, taking one of Puck's fries.

"I know, right!" Rachel said.

"Oh God, there she goes again." Kurt said, pushing his chair back. "I'm going to watch Puck perform surgery from the gallery. If anyone wants to join me and not hear the should-be lovebirds talk about performing surgery like they've never done it, come join me."

Finn and Rachel frowned as they watched the rest of the table push their chairs back and follow Kurt out of the cafeteria.

"They just can't handle that we were the first two who got to help Sylvester with her surgeries." Rachel said, tucking a piece of hair that was falling out of her ponytail behind her ear.

"They're jealous because they know their surgeries won't go as flawlessly as ours did." Finn said, giving Rachel a high five.

"Well, mine wasn't flawless, but the guy is going to make a full recovery." Rachel said. "Well, my lunch is done. I guess I should go around and do post-ops. I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah, see you later." Finn said, smiling at his best friend as she left the cafeteria.

"Hey, Finn." Rachel said to Finn as she left the hospital that night. "What's going on?"

He shrugged. "Not much. Just waiting around and getting some fresh air. What about you?"

She started digging through her bag for her keys. "Not much. I thought about heading over to Rolling Greens for a little bit. I needed to celebrate the successful surgery today. You wanna come with me?"

"No, I was going to meet Liz here and we were going to go out for a bite to eat and walk around town for a little bit. Oh, I left my house key in a different pair of pants, so try not to lock the doors until I get home tonight, okay?"

Rachel smiled and nodded. "I love you."

Finn's eyes widened. "What?"

Rachel's hand flew up to her mouth. "Oh my God, I just said that out loud. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Um, let's just forget I said anything. It was a total slip of the tongue. What do they call it in psychology? A Freudian slip? Yeah, that's what it is. So, let's forget about that, like I just said."

"Rachel—"

"I love you so much. I can't keep it in anymore. I've tried to move on, but things didn't work out with me and Zach, and I don't care that he comes from a great medical family and I come from a great medical family, and people think that we're supposed to be together. It's just not working out because of how much I love you. And hanging out with you for these last few months has been great, but it keeps making me fall even more in love with you and I feel like this is going to destroy our friendship so I need to know if you still love me the way I love you." Rachel started to cry and started stuttering. "Everything I do somehow makes me think of you. Every time I go to the pizza place down the street, I think of our outing as friends when I tried to tell myself that we really were just friends and right now, where I'm standing I can smell your cologne and it smells really good and you put just the right amount on and it's not overwhelming, and I'm sure I'm overwhelming you right now, but I love you." Rachel paused to wipe away some of her tears. "I love you so much that I don't even know if I can just be friends with you because it really hurts to see you with other people and I feel so sick all the time. And every time you bring Megan home, I can hear the two of you having sex, and it makes me cry every time because that should be me in there and I made a horrible mistake, I know I did, and I regret it every day. I love you, Finn Hudson. I love you more than you could ever imagine. And the fact that I'm standing here, basically sobbing in front of you is really embarrassing to me, and I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry and I love you. So, I thought saying this to you would make me feel better, since you know, I'm finally getting it off my chest, but I feel worse because this situation is so awkward. So, there we go. It's all out in the open. I love you, Finn Hudson, and I don't think I can ever stop loving you." Rachel said, finishing her speech as she wiped away more of the tears that were falling down her face. "Finn…"

"Finn, there you are!" a female voice rang out. Rachel tried to pull herself before Finn's girlfriend could see that she was a fucking hot mess. "I thought we were going to meet in the front lobby, but I've been waiting there for five minutes." Liz's eyes landed on Rachel. "Oh, Rachel, I didn't see you there. I hope you don't have a ball to throw at my nose to break it. She turned her attention back to Finn. "Ready to go to dinner?"

Finn looked back at Rachel. She was visibly struggling to hold herself together. He didn't want to leave her, he _couldn't_ leave her.

"We can talk later tonight, Finn." Rachel said. Finn was amazed at how she managed to sound so put together when he could take one look at her and say that she wasn't doing well. "Enjoy your night together. And I'll make sure to leave the door unlocked until you get home." Rachel smiled and Finn could see that her eyes were still slightly wet.

"You sure?" Finn asked, reaching out to take Rachel's hand.

Rachel backed away slowly. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'll see you later."

"So, what is really going on between you and Rachel?" Liz asked later that night as she walked down the street to get the house with Finn.

"Liz, I've told you a million times. We're just friends—"

"The scene at the hospital didn't look like just friends. If you really love her, you can tell me. I'm a big girl and can handle anything you tell me." She turned to face him.

"She told me she loves me."

Liz nodded. "And how do you feel about her?"

Finn took a deep breath. "I love her too."

She nodded again. "And you don't love me."

"I'm sorry, Liz."

She shook her head. "Well, I'm not one to stand in the way of true love. Go be with her, Finn. And when the two of you get married, you'll thank me for that." She gave Finn a serious look and started walking down the opposite end of the street.

Finn watched her walk off, then turned and started running towards the house.

"Rach and I are finally going to be together." He picked up a few stones from the front garden and started tossing them at Rachel's window. He waited until he saw the curtains move before throwing the second stone.

"Finn Hudson, I think you're going crazy." Rachel whispered, peeking her head out from her window.

"Well, I've heard being in love does crazy things to people. And there's this girl that I'm in love with, and she does all of these crazy things to my mind. And I just need you to know that I love her. I'm in love with Rachel Berry."

Her eyes lit up. "Give me a second. I'll be right down." Rachel shut her window, pulled her curtains back to where they were, flipped off the lights in her room, and seconds later was running full speed towards Finn. She jumped into his arms and her lips crashed into his.

"I love you, Finn Hudson."

"I love you, too, Rachel Berry." He looked up at the sky and saw a shooting star go across the sky. "What a cliché." Finn said, a smile forming on his face.

"But it's a sweet cliché." Rachel said, laying down on the front lawn. "Come on, there might be more."

Finn rolled his eyes but nonetheless got down and laid down next to Rachel. "I could spend the rest of my life like this."

Rachel raised an eyebrow, propped herself up on her elbows and turned so she could face Finn. "You want to spend your life camped out on the itchy grass?"

"Definitely not. I just meant I wanted to spend the rest of my life camped out next to you. And a little further down the line, we'll have some kids of our own to join us."

"And Penelope. We can't forget about her."

"Of course. She's our first baby." Finn said, pulling Rachel closer to him.

"Our first baby." Rachel repeated, smiling to herself.

Nothing was going to mess her and Finn up this time.

The first thing Finn saw were the headlights. That's when he first woke up and saw Rachel was still sleeping next to him.

The next thing Finn saw was that the car kept swerving. He frowned but didn't think anything of it. The house was down the street from Rolling Greens, and it was likely Pat didn't get a chance to collect everyone's keys. It had happened before, after all.

The third thing Finn saw was the car went off the street and up into the yard. He tried to move to protect Rachel, or even better, get her out of the way.

The fourth thing Finn saw was the car step on the gas and hit Rachel.

The fifth thing Finn saw was blackness.

**Author's Note: So the speech that Rachel made marks the first time I have ever cried while writing. I guess that shows how much I love Finn and Rachel with a little help from Mark and Lexie from Grey's. And I promise that since Finchel is finally together, they are together for good this time.**


	12. I Loved You From The Start

**Chapter Twelve: I Loved You From The Start**

**Author's Note: Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. So, you're in for another emotional rollercoaster. This chapter, as well as the last chapter, were my favorites to write. As always, I don't own Glee. The chapter title comes from Something More by Bonnie Dune (I had to get a reference to them in here somewhere).**

"Sylvester, I need to have a quick word with you." Schuester said as Sylvester was on her way out of the hospital.

"Sir, can it wait until the morning? I had a grueling day in surgery because of the barge accident and I'd like to get home and see Robin for a little bit before I have to come back here."

"Sue, there's been a horrible accident and Rachel is on her way in."

"Rachel? Rachel Berry? What the hell happened?" For the first time in Will Schuester's time at McKinley, he saw Sue Sylvester look frazzled.

"It was some sort of accident. Finn will be able to tell you once the shock of it all. I'm on my way out to pick up Hiram and Leroy from Grand Central." Schuester started to walk out of the hospital, then turned around. "Oh, and Sue?"

"Yes, Chief?"

"Don't let anything bad happen to that girl."

Sue pressed her lips together and gave the Chief an affirmative nod. "Where is she?"

"Trauma, room two."

Sue nodded and took a second to compose herself. She then sprinted to the trauma room.

She pulled back the curtains and saw a bloody Rachel laying on the hospital bed. She looked to her left and saw Finn holding one of Rachel's hands.

"Hudson, what the hell happened?" Sue said, looking at Rachel to survey the damage.

"We saw a shooting star last night and just fell asleep on the lawn. Next thing I know, there's a car that's driving down the road and the car swerves or does something and hits Rachel. And I blacked out." Finn started shaking his head. "This isn't how our lives are supposed to be."

"Ah, there you are, Dr. Sylvester." Dr. Gilmore, the head of trauma, said as he came into the room. "Rachel's surgery is going to have to be done in shifts. She'll make a full recovery, but she won't be able to return to work for at least six weeks. Her spleen is ruptured so that's what you'll be doing first. Then Lopez will come in and reset the bone in her leg. Cardio and neuro will be in the O.R. room for just in case purposes." Gilmore turned to Finn. "Hudson, I know you were the one who found her. Do you think you'll be able to assist Dr. Sylvester?"

Finn opened his mouth to answer, but Sylvester beat him to it. "Absolutely not. I'll use someone else's intern. Hudson, if I find out you try to get any closer to the operating room than the gallery, you will be suspended for two weeks. Understand?"

"But, Sylvester, Rachel—"

"I'm serious, Hudson. Stay put in the gallery. If you're not in the gallery, you are using the restroom or getting something to eat in the cafeteria. Are we clear?"

"Yes. Can I have a quick moment alone with Rachel before surgery?"

Sylvester sighed. "One minute. Then we have to take her to surgery. Just come out in the hallway when you're ready."

Finn nodded as Sylvester and Gilmore left the room. He went back to where he was sitting and took Rachel's hand.

"Okay, so this is it, Rach. Hopefully, this is the last surgery you're going to have at the hospital. Because I'm sure you want to be the one doing the operating, not the one being operated on." He squeezed her hand. "Now, I have to go, but I'll be watching everything that happens from the gallery. I love you, and I have full faith that you'll come through the surgery perfectly." He kissed her hand and stood up.

"You finished saying what you need to, Hudson?" Sylvester asked when Finn left the room.

"Yeah. You can take her down now. I'll be back in a little bit."

"Remember: no operating room."

"I won't go in there, I promise. Just, take good care of my girl." Finn said.

"Hudson, what kind of statement is that? I am Sue Sylvester, one of the best general surgeons in the United States. I always take good care of my patients."

"How's the surgery going?" Finn asked when he got into the gallery. He sat down next to Kurt and saw that Sylvester had finished up on Rachel, and Santana Lopez was now working on fixing Rachel's leg.

"Perfectly. Sylvester found out the split in the spleen was smaller than she thought, so all she had to do was put the sutures in it. So it's ahead of schedule."

"Have her fathers arrived yet?"

"Not that I know of. I haven't heard anyone come in to say anything about them." Kurt turned his attention from the surgery to Finn. "What the hell were the two of you doing down there last night?"

Finn sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Can you keep a secret?"

Kurt raised an eyebrow at Finn. "What did the two of you do last night?"

"We're back together. And the reason I'm asking you to keep this a secret is because we didn't get to talk about if we were going to tell anyone. But we're together and this time, nothing is going to stand in our way."

"That's good, Finn. I really hope the two of you stay together forever this time."

"I'm going to make sure of it." Finn said. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out to see that Puck was calling him. "It's Puck. I should take the call to see what he wants." Finn went to stand up and had a small velvet wrapped box fall out of his pocket. Kurt's eyes bugged out when he saw it.

"Finn Hudson, what are you hiding from me?" Kurt said, grabbing the cube before Finn could. He popped the top of it open and gasped. "Oh my God, are you proposing to Rachel?"

"Not so loudly, Kurt. And I'm not sure when I'm doing it, but I am."

"When did you buy this? And how are you doing it?"

"Kurt, I really don't have a clue. So let's just keep this between the two of us."

"Fine. But can I help you plan the wedding?"

"Well, you'll have to ask Rach about that one, but I'm sure she won't mind." Finn said. "God, I wish I could go in there and get an update. But Sylvester told me if I went in, I'd be suspended."

"I can go do it. I'll just say her dads want an update." Kurt pushed himself up off the chair in the gallery chair. "I'll be right back with an update."

"Thanks, Kurt. You're the best."

"Well I knew that, but a little reminder doesn't hurt." Kurt said.

Finn smiled and rolled his eyes. Of course Kurt would say something like that. It was a total Kurt Hummel comment.

"Ah, there's our little Rachela's saving man!" Leroy said when Finn went into the lobby to wait for the all clear to see Rachel.

"Thank you, Finn. It means a lot to us that you saved our daughter." Hiram said.

"I just got her here to the hospital. That's about all I did." Finn said.

"Well, yes, that's true, but that's not what we were talking about." Leroy said. "Kurt said that you and Rachel got back together. And before you get mad at him for telling us, we're her fathers and we deserve to know what's going on in our daughter's life."

"No, it's fine. Um, did Kurt mention anything else to you?"

"No." Leroy said, looking at Hiram. "Was there something he was supposed to say?"

"No. I – uh – I actually have something I need to ask you." Finn fished the engagement ring box out of his pocket and set it down on the table. "Earlier, I bought an engagement ring for Rachel. I don't know when I'm going to use it, but I know that I will for sure use it. But tradition says that I have to ask the bride's father first, and as you both know, Rachel is big on tradition. So, Mr. and Mr. Berry, I want to marry your daughter, and I know it would mean a lot to her if you blessed this."

Hiram and Leroy shared a look with each other as Finn waited expectantly. Then they turned back to Finn with big grins on their faces.

"Nothing would make us happier, Finn." Hiram said.

"Welcome to the family."

"Hiram. Leroy."

The three of them turned their heads around and saw Schuester was standing in the lobby.

"Ah, Will, good to see you again. How's Rachel doing?" Leroy said, standing up.

"She's in recovery now. The surgeries were completely successful. Now, she won't be able to return to work for about two months. I can arrange it with the hospital staff to make sure that she'll have at least one of her roommates at the house with her at all times. We can set up an appointment here in the hospital so she can get her physical therapy here, if you'd like."

"That would be great, thank you, Will." Hiram said, shaking his hand.

"Now, if you'd like to go see her, you can. I'm sure Dr. Hudson can show you to the hospital room."

"Actually, Leroy and I have a consult in New Jersey we have to. Finn, you can go see Rachel if you'd like. And let her know that we'll be by later."

"Of course, sirs. Thanks for the update, Chief Schuester."

"Any time, any time."

Finn stood up and walked back to where Rachel was in recovery.

"She'll still be heavily sedated. But hearing the voice of someone who loves her might get her awake a little quicker." the Chief said. "But you already knew that. I'll let the two of you have some time together. Page me if you need anything."

"Of course, Chief." Finn said, sitting down in a chair by Rachel's hospital bed. He took her hand that was closer to him and gave it a small squeeze. "Hey, Rach, it's me, Finn. So I've been assured by a lot of doctors here at the hospital that you're going to be okay. So now I just need you to wake up so that way we can really start being together." Finn let out a small chuckle. "So, do you realize that last night was your chance to talk and babble on, and now, the morning after everything that happened, it's my turn to talk and babble like a crazy person." Finn took a slight pause to rub the back of his neck. "I love you, and I think it would be the cruelest joke in the entire world to lose you again, especially since I just got you back. I don't ever want to be without you in my life. So not only do I need you to wake up, I need you to remember that we love each other and we're a couple." Finn dug through his pocket and pulled out the engagement ring box. "I got this while you were in surgery. Because when I saw you on the front lawn covered in blood from that stupid car, I realized that I need you in my life in order to survive. If you wake up, I promise to make you the happiest you have ever been. If you wake up from this, I get down on one knee and propose to you because that's how much I love you. You know, I have a feeling that if you were awake right now, you'd tell me I was crazy, but I don't care. This is what I want. I even asked your dads for their blessing and they said yes. I did that for you because I knew that's what you want."

"Okay."

Finn blinked in surprise and looked down to see Rachel was slowly waking up.

"Okay? You heard all of that?"

"Every single word." She smiled at Finn. "So, I hope you meant everything you said because I want to marry you."

Finn smiled and leaned down to kiss her. "Of course I meant every word of it."

She smiled back at him. "Well, prove it. Get down on the bended knee you were talking about and propose to me."

Finn chuckled at her, took the ring box off the table, and got down on one knee. "Rachel Barbra Berry, will you marry me?"

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I will marry you!" Rachel started to giggle as Finn put the ring on her finger. "I love you, Finn."

He kissed her again. "I love you, too, Rach."


	13. Closest To Heaven I'll Ever Be

**Chapter Thirteen: Closest to Heaven I'll Ever Be**

**Author's Note: So, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, and this chapter are my three favorites that I've written thus far. I hope you all liked the Finchel engagement. As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls (which is one of my all time favorite songs).**

"How many more days am I going to be stuck here in the hospital because, honestly, I feel fine." Rachel said after being stuck in the hospital for three days.

"Berry, you know standard procedure. You get out tomorrow. No ifs, ands, or buts about it." Sylvester said, writing something down in her chart. "Hudson, it's your job to make sure this girl doesn't end up on my operating table for a long time."

"I'll try, Dr. Sylvester, but it's Rachel. I think she's slightly danger prone."

"Finn!" Rachel said, reaching behind her to take one of the hospital pillows to hit him. "You can't tell our boss that I'm danger prone."

"Sorry, Dr. Sylvester. She just loves watching you perform surgeries on other people that she gets jealous and feels the need to have you perform surgeries on you."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's the real reason I had my appendix burst and that's the reason I had the car come up onto the lawn and hit me." Rachel shook her head. "Do the police have any leads about who did it?"

Finn shook his head. "But they have more concerns. That's why when we get married we should move to a small town and—"

"Finn, I can't do small town life. I'd get bored way too easily. And New York City is where all our family and friends live."

"Well, I'll let you two love birds fight about where you're going to live. Hudson, I'd like you back on my rotation tomorrow because I can't handle Puckerman without your help."

"Will do, Sylvester. I'll see what I can do."

"I guess that's the best I can ask for." Sylvester said. "Berry, I'll be back in a little bit to check on you. And before you ask, no, if everything looks fine, you are not allowed to leave the hospital."

Rachel groaned and fell back against her pillows as Sylvester left the room. "I just want to go home and see Penelope. Does our baby miss me?"

"Of course she misses you. I went by your room last night and she was scratching on your door trying to find you."

"My poor baby." Rachel said, frowning. "I wish I could go home tonight and hold her so she knows I love her. Or I wish she could come to the hospital but that isn't allowed."

Finn nodded his head in agreement and felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Shoot, I have to take this call. I'll be back, okay?"

"Well, it's obvious that I'm not going anywhere. Take your time, I'll keep myself entertained somehow." Rachel said, looking at her engagement ring.

Finn smiled to himself as he stepped out of the room and answered his phone. "Finn Hudson."

"Finn Hudson, this is Harrison Brooks, the head of the estate of Julia Haines. Are you free to talk right now?"

"Yes, absolutely. Is Zoey okay?"

"That's why I'm calling today, Mr. Hudson. It seems like your ex girlfriend has recently perished in a tragic house fire. And as Zoey's father, you have a claim to Zoey before anyone else. Would you like her, or shall her grandparents take her?"

Finn looked in the hospital room at Rachel. On one hand, it would be great for Finn to have custody of Zoey. He couldn't remember the last time they'd spent a lot of time together. But on the other hand, Rachel could barely take care of herself at the moment. So how would he expect her to handle a five year old?

"Mr. Hudson, are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here. I need to give you a call back. I just have some things I need to talk over with someone. I will give you a call back as soon as possible."

"Splendid. When you have your answer, tell Leslie that she can patch you straight through to my office." There was a click and the line went dead.

Finn took a deep breath and walked back into Rachel's hospital room and took his seat by the bed.

"Is everything okay? You look incredibly serious." Rachel said.

"Well, Rach, there's something we need to talk about." Finn took a deep breath. "The person who just called was a lawyer for Julia's estate."

"Her estate? Did Julia die?"

"That's what the lawyer said. And the lawyer said that I can either have sole custody of Zoey, or she can live with her grandparents. I know Julia's parents, and if I do that, I won't ever get to see my daughter ever again."

"So get her out here. We can handle it. Plus we have five other people living with us that can help us out."

"Really? You're sure about this?"

"Yeah. Finn, I love Zoey. She is absolutely adorable."

"Okay. I'll give the lawyer a call back. It looks like we'll have a new little roommate with us in the next few days."

Rachel smiled at Finn as walked back out of the Rachel's room to call the lawyer back.

"Harrison Brooks."

"Hello, it's Finn Hudson calling you back. I've talked it over and my fiancé and I would love to have Zoey come live us."

"Fiancé? Mr. Hudson, it was the wishes of the deceased that you be married before Zoey can be in your care. When is the wedding?"

"Did I say fiancé? I meant my wife. We just got married a few nights ago and I'm trying to get used to saying she's my wife." Finn said, lying through his teeth. He just hoped the lawyer couldn't tell.

"Oh, well then, congratulations, Mr. Hudson. Someone will be in touch to set up the arrangements for Zoey's arrival in New York City."

Finn let out a quick sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. He needed to find a way to marry Rachel. And he needed to do it now.

He took a deep breath and went back in to Rachel's room.

"So, when's Zoey getting here? Because there's some things that we're going to have to do at the house before she comes."

"We have to get married. Right now." Finn said. "I may have told the lawyer that we were already married."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Why would you do that?"

"Because he said in order for me to have custody of Zoey, I had to be married. And it's not that much of a stretch. We are engaged, after all."

Rachel smiled and looked down at her ring. When she looked back up at Finn, she had a mischievous look on her face. "We can get married here! At the chapel. It's right down the hall from my room. You call your mom and tell her to get here as soon as possible, and I'll call my dads and we'll get married in the hospital."

"You want to get married here? In a hospital?"

"Well, it's not the ideal location, but considering the circumstances, it can work. Marriage license. We need one of those. Run to the courthouse and get one. Tell them it's an emergency. If that doesn't work, mention my dads. They donated a bunch of money to the building of the new building a few years back and they'll do anything for the Berry family."

Finn kissed Rachel. "I'm surprised you're willing to do this."

"Finn, it's for your daughter. You love her, and I want her to have a happy life. Now hurry so we can get this done."

"Right." Finn nodded and ran out of the room before peeking his head back into the room. "Have I mentioned I love you?"

Rachel smiled. "Not in a awhile. So it's nice to hear it. And I love you, too."

"I just don't understand why we can't give you a real wedding. That's all you've talked about since you were eight years old." Leroy said, waiting in one of the chairs in the hospital chapel.

"Daddy, I will get my dream wedding. But this is just to help Finn with something." Rachel looked down at the wheelchair she was in and the hospital gown she was wearing. "Plus, when I get married, I want to be in a real wedding dress and walk down the aisle."

"Why did the two of you decide to do this anyway? Hiram asked, pacing at the door to the chapel. "You just got engaged a few days ago."

"It's a long story that I promise I will tell you when the time is right."

"Why did we get paged to come to the chapel? Is there a patient that's going to die before they get their last prayer in?" Puck said. Quinn rolled her eyes and elbowed him in the side.

"Rachel, the Berry's? What is this about?" Schuester asked when he entered the chapel.

"I'm not saying anything until everyone gets here. And Finn, too." Rachel said, twisting her engagement ring on her finger.

"Okay, I got the license, and my mother is parking her car right now. Where's the guy performing the ceremony at?" Finn asked, coming through the doors.

"Ceremony?" Kurt asked.

Finn walked over and stood beside Rachel's wheelchair. "We're getting married."

"Why?" Puck asked. His eyes widened. "Oh, you guys are having a baby, aren't you?"

"Noah." Rachel hissed, eyeing her dads. "That's not the reason."

"Oh, Rachel, did you think to invite your mother?" Hiram asked.

"I did, but she said that she's in Europe for work with Amy. So I told her not to worry and she better be here for the real one." Rachel looked around at everyone who was in the chapel. "Thanks to all of you for coming. It means a lot to Finn and me."

Carole came into the chapel. "Rachel, thank goodness you're okay." She walked over to where Rachel was and gave her a hug. "When Finn called me a few days ago and told me you were hurt, I was a total mess. So now the two of you are getting married, and Zoey is coming home in a few days, and everything is working out perfectly between the two of you."

Rachel smiled. Ever since she met Carole at Thanksgiving, she had taken a liking to her. And now she was happy she was gaining her as a family member.

Finn looked down at Rachel and smiled. "Well, now that everyone is here, I think it's time to get married."

He walked over to the pastor's office and knocked on the door. "We're ready."

He stepped back and the pastor opened the door to his office. "Wonderful. Do you have the marriage license?"

"Wait, I need to sign it." Rachel said, pushing herself towards Finn. She grabbed a pen and signed it. "There. After the ceremony, my name will be Rachel Barbra Hudson." She smiled up at Finn. "Okay. We can get married now."

"Do you have rings or anything to exchange?"

"Damn it." Finn muttered. "Sorry, Rach, I don't have a ring for you."

"Yes you do." Carole said, coming forward to hand Finn two wedding bands. "These were the rings that your father and I used." She smiled at the two of them. "I figured that the two of you didn't have rings, so I brought these in case."

"Okay. Finn, take this ring and place it on Rachel's finger."

Finn took the ring and slid the ring on Rachel's finger.

"Finn Hudson, do you take Rachel Berry to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

Rachel smiled and reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Now, Rachel, take this ring and place it on Finn's finger."

Rachel did the same thing with the ring that Finn did to her.

"Rachel Berry, do you take Finn Hudson to be your lawfully husband?"

"I do."

Now it was Finn's turn to smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen, by the powers vested in me and the state of New York, I would like to present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Finn Hudson. You may kiss the bride."

Finn got down on his knees so he was eye level with Rachel. "I love you, Rach."

"I love you, too, Finn." She smiled as his lips met hers and the small crowd around them started cheering and clapping.

"Now, I don't mean to be a buzz kill, but we have patients we have to check up on, and Rachel needs to get back to her room." Sylvester said.

Finn and Rachel chuckled. "Wheel me back to my room, Mr. Hudson?"

"Anything for you, Mrs. Hudson." Finn said, glaring at Puck as he started to making vomiting noises.


	14. Voulez-vous Couchez Avec Moi Ce Soir

**Chapter Fourteen: Voulez-vous Couchez Avec Moi Ce Soir**

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been taking a little bit to update this chapter. I've had the most intense writer's block imaginable and it sucks. And because of said writer's block, that's why the chapter is so short, my apologies about that. Hopefully it will go away soon so I can get some good stuff written before college starts. So, from this chapter on, the M rating is in effect. This is my first time writing smut, so we'll see how that goes. As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Lady Marmalade by P!nk, Christina Aguilera, Mýa, Lil' Kim, and Missy Elliot.**

"Congratulations, Berry, your release date is finally here." Sylvester said, walking in to Rachel's hospital room the day after the wedding.

"That's not my name anymore." Rachel reminded her, holding up her hand with the wedding ring on it. "It's Hudson now."

"Well, Hudson, I've been calling you Berry for ten months now. It is going to take time for me to call you by the right name. And there's two members on my rotation named Hudson and it'll will be too confusing. So, you will always be Berry to me." She handed Rachel the release papers. "Now, even though you get to leave the hospital, you'll have to be back in a few days for—"

"For physical therapy, I know. I'll be here for it. Because the sooner I complete physical therapy, the sooner I can come back to work, right?"

"Sylvester, tell her that she has to be out for eight weeks. You're her mentor; maybe she'll listen to you. God knows she isn't listening to her husband." Finn said.

"You should listen to your husband Berr—Hudson." Sylvester said. "I won't sign off on anything pertaining to your return for another eight weeks."

"But what about the intern exams? I need to take those."

"Relax, I'll make sure I keep you up-to-date on the things leading up to the exam." Finn said, squeezing Rachel's hand.

Rachel smiled up at him. "See, look at my wonderful husband. Are my dads on their way here?"

"Nope. Because they aren't taking you back to the house. I am." Finn said. "And on the way back to the house we have to make a stop at LaGuardia."

"The airport? Why do we have to make a stop at the – oh! Is Zoey on her way to New York?"

"Yes she is. So whenever you sign those papers to get out of here, we can go get her."

Rachel hastily signed her name on the papers and tried to push herself off the bed. "A little help, please?"

Finn chuckled to himself and went over to help Rachel out of the bed.

"Now, Hudson – the original one – you have the day off tomorrow but you know you come back to work again the next day."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. No need to remind me. Come on, Rach, let's get you out of here so we can go get Zoey." Finn said, wheeling Rachel out of the room.

"Why did we stop here at the house? Don't we have to get to the airport?" Rachel said as Finn pulled into the driveway.

"We have a few hours before we have to get her. And I figured there were some things that you and I could do beforehand." Finn got out of the car and walked around to Rachel's side and opened the door for her. "For starters, it's tradition that the bride gets carried over the threshold of the house after the wedding. And if we waited until Zoey got here, I'd be carrying the two of you, and all of your bags. Now, you may think I'm strong, but I'm not that strong."

He reached into the car and unbuckled Rachel and swept her up in his arms. "And, I figured since we won't have any roommates for a few more hours at least, there's some husband and wife-y things that could get done around the house."

Despite the warm end of April air in New York, Rachel started to shiver.

Why the hell was she nervous about sex with Finn, anyway?

_Maybe because for the last month, you had to listen to him and Liz_ the little voice in her head said.

"Shut up." she muttered, hoping she said it low enough that Finn didn't hear her.

"What?" Finn asked, sounding slightly taken aback.

"Nothing. Just ignore me. It's just weird being back here when the last time you and I hung out here, I was hit by a car. It's a lot to take in, that's all."

Finn nodded in an understanding manner. He didn't want to push Rachel into anything that she wasn't ready for. Because within a week, they had gone from being friends, to being back together, Rachel being hit by a car, engaged, married, and having his daughter come live with them. If his head was swirling from everything that happened, Rachel must not be fully comprehending everything that's going on.

"Now, how about you carry me over the threshold and we can do one of those husband and wife things you were talking about earlier."

Finn felt himself growing hard at what she was saying. Rachel Berry – Rachel Hudson – had the inexplicable ability to do crazy things to him.

"First off, you need to move all of your stuff from your room into mine. After we pick up Zoey from the airport, we'll have to take her shopping for sheets of her own. I'm sure she wouldn't want yours." Rachel said, shaking her head back and forth to get the mental images of Liz and Finn out of her head.

"Rach, isn't there any way we can do this later? We've been married for a few days now and haven't had any time to consummate the marriage. I think this has to be a record for people on their honeymoon." Finn said, pushing the door open. If it wasn't for the healing leg, he'd throw her down on the couch and have his way with her right there.

That's what honeymoon sex was for anyway, right?"

"This is so not our honeymoon."

"Rach, you are absolutely killing me. I want to make love to my wife. Is that too much to ask for?"

"I just wanted to hear you ask for it." Rachel said, examining her chipped nails, all the while feeling her heart beat increase.

It was finally going to happen.

"Rachel Barbra Berry-who-just-changed-her-name-to-Hudson, will you allow me the pleasure of having sex with you to celebrate our wedding?"

Rachel smiled at what Finn said and nodded. "Absolutely. Let's do it. I'm ready."

"Okay. Let's do it." Finn repeated. "Where?"

"Start in the bedroom. We'll have plenty of time to do it other places." Rachel said, a devious smile forming on her face. "Plus, we only have a few hours until we have to get Zoey."

"Right." Finn said, giving an affirming nod of his head. He adjusted his grip on Rachel and took her upstairs to her room. He carefully laid her down on the bed and kissed her.

"You ready?"

Rachel smiled and licked her lips. "I was born ready, babe."

He leaned over to kiss her again, but this time it was nothing like their kiss from a few moments before. This one was smoldering. Burning. Passionate.

"Finn." Rachel whimpered as Finn peppered kisses down her neck as he started to nip on her pulse point. "Don't…stop…" Her back arched in pleasure and Finn pushed her hips back down on the bed.

Slowly, their clothes were peeled off and tossed all over the room.

"You need to let me know if this hurts, Rach. Your leg, I mean." Finn said.

"Fuck, Finn. Just do it."

To warm her up, he teased Rachel's clit with a finger before shoving it inside her.

Rachel moaned in pleasure and bucked her hips up, sending Finn in deeper. He pulled his finger halfway out and slammed it back in again.

"Finn, I'm…" Rachel started. Finn pulled his finger, replacing it with his cock.

"Cum for me, Rach." Finn said, slamming his cock into her.

"Fu-uck!" Rachel said, her orgasm coursing through her body, Finn releasing not long after her.

After a few minutes of heavy panting without much else, Rachel rolled over to her side and smiled at Finn. "I didn't think it would take us that long. It better not be short like that the next time we have sex."

Finn rolled to face Rachel. "Of course not. We'll say it's because we've been waiting to do that for months now. And we're in a hurry because of Zoey."

Rachel nodded and kissed Finn. "Well, we still have a little bit more time until we have to get Zoey. What do you say, one more time? For practice?"

Finn smiled at her as he rolled her under him. "I think that's a great idea."

**Author's Note: Okay, so yeah, that was my first smut scene. If I decide to do another smut scene, it will probably be longer. Working on the next few chapters now (I think the story is going to have 20-25 chapters, maybe more if I actually finish my summer reading book for school).**


	15. Life Is Going To Change

**Chapter Fifteen: Life Is Going To Change**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter and made me feel better about my smut writing abilities. This chapter is going to have a major Finn and Rachel event that will lead us into the winding up of this story. I've started planning out my next one, so don't fret about that just yet. As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from With Arms Wide Open by Creed.**

"So, with Finn and I begin married now, we thought it would be a good idea to set up a few more ground rules in the house." Rachel said one morning a few weeks after she got home from the hospital. Puck raised his hand and Rachel rolled her eyes. "What, Noah?"

"Since Finn is in your room now, does that mean I get his room?"

"Uncle Puck!" Zoey said, starting to giggle. "That's _my_ room."

"Rachel, you have to make the five year old move into the attic. She'll enjoy it way more."

"Noah, no. Zoey is staying in Finn's old room and that is final. Anyway, moving on…"

"Actually, can we talk about room changes?" Tina said. "Because I think there are some things that need to be addressed."

Rachel huffed and stomped her foot—her good one, at least. Finn started rubbing her back in attempt to make her feel better.

"Yes, I one hundred percent agree." Kurt said. "There's actually something I needed to talk about, Rach. I—"

"Tina, don't do this here." Quinn said, narrowing her eyes. "It is not the right time."

"What's going on?" Rachel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Last night, when I finally got home from a grueling day at the hospital. So I went to my room and tried to get some sleep, but instead, I was kept awake the noise coming from Quinn's room and I just went over to ask them to shut up and we may have gotten into a small fight."

"Oh shut up, Tina, you are still pissed off that I accidentally walked in on you and that neuro resident getting it on in the supply closet."

"Okay can we please get back on topic?" Blaine said. "Puck, you can take my room or Kurt's room because we're moving into our own apartment."

This news shocked Rachel. "What? You guys are moving out?"

Kurt gave Blaine a cool stare. "Well, we weren't going to mention moving out like this, but, yes, Blaine and I are planning on moving out. We figured that with Finn and Rachel being married and Zoey moving into the house that the house was getting a little full."

Rachel frowned and tried to hold back tears. "You two are leaving?"

Kurt got up from his spot on the couch and walked over to where Rachel was sitting and kneeled down in front of her. "Listen to me, Rachel Hudson. You are my very best friend. I did not make this decision lightly. And I will be back here seeing you and Zoey over there because I love you and you are my best friend."

Rachel sniffed and gave Kurt a teary-eyed smile. "You better come visit. Because we don't get to work together much anymore and I still have another five weeks before I can work again."

"While this expression of feelings is touching, I just want to know who's room I'll be taking over and when I'll be moving in. Enough with the fucking feelings." Puck said.

"Noah!" Rachel exclaimed. "You can't say that around Zoey. I swear to God, if I hear her say that I will personally do very bad things to you."

Puck sneered. "Finn's my man and he wouldn't let anything happen to me. Right, Hudson?"

Finn shrugged his shoulders. "I'm with Rachel on this one. I don't want Zoey going around and saying things that she hears from Uncle Puck."

"Un-fucking-believable." Puck muttered. Rachel heard him and narrowed her eyes.

A wave of nausea rolled over Rachel. "Finn, take over for me. I'll be right back." She hurried to the bathroom and leaned over the toilet, seeing the remains from her breakfast she just threw up.

"Third time this damn morning." Rachel said.

"Rach, it's me." Kurt said, knocking on the bathroom door. "I appreciate the dramatics as your way of saying you don't want Blaine and I to leave but we move out this weekend. And it's just to the apartment complexes down the block. So you can pop in anytime you need."

Rachel smiled at Kurt's speech before throwing up again. "Thanks, Kurt."

"You know, you're lucky you have this stomach bug when you aren't actually working."

"Lucky? Kurt, I have to take care of a five year old until my mom comes to get her. Being sick is not high on my priority list today. Or any day, for that matter." She threw up again and wiped her mouth. "Anyway, you all should go. It probably won't be a good thing to be late for another shift with Sylvester."

Rachel heard Kurt chuckle from the other side of the bathroom door. "That's true. Well, call or page us if you need anything."

"Will do." Rachel waited until she couldn't hear footsteps in the hallway before she slumped against the toilet seat and ran her hands through her hands.

"Finn!" she called out, hoping he'd hear her. "Bring my phone up here!"

A few seconds later, the door to the bathroom opened, but Finn wasn't standing in the doorway.

It was Quinn.

"So, you are going to think I'm crazy for asking you this, but when I say the word 'food' what do you immediately think of?"

"Throwing up. And ice cream with peanut butter drizzled on it. And hush puppies."

Quinn nodded slowly. "You need to take a pregnancy test."

"A pregnancy test? Quinn, I don't think…oh my God."

"I'll let that sink in while I run out before I take care of you the rest of the day. I'll trade days with Blaine. I'm getting you a pregnancy test and the ice cream. There's peanut butter downstairs so you just need to put it in the microwave. As for the hush puppies, it's early and I don't think any restaurant that makes decent ones are open right now. Maybe for lunch."

"How do you know that?"

"I'll explain it all later. Make sure you drink a lot of fluids while I'm gone. And I can take Zoey with me so you can throw up in peace.

"Thanks, Quinn."

"Rachel?" Quinn said, slowly opening the bathroom door, hoping she wouldn't hit Rachel with the door.

"In my room."

"Zoey, why don't you go to my room and watch a movie until Shelby gets here. And I'm going to make sure Rachel feels better."

Zoey nodded and ran down the hallway to Quinn's room. Quinn took a deep breath and walked into Finn and Rachel's room to see Rachel was back in her pajamas and was curled up in bed with a cool wash cloth on her forehead.

"Okay, I bought all the good flavors of ice cream, five different brands of pregnancy tests, saltine crackers, and lollipops." Quinn said, sitting down on the bed next to Rachel. "You're going to go to the bathroom and use the tests. If it says you're pregnant, we'll celebrate with the ice cream and I can tell you how I knew that you were pregnant. And if it says you aren't pregnant, we'll sit here all day, watch the soap operas, and pig out with the ice cream."

"You don't have to do this with me, Quinn."

"I know. But you're my roommate, my coworker, and more importantly, I think of you as one of my best friends. Now go take the test because I want to know if there's going to be a little Finchel baby running around the house."

Rachel smiled at Quinn and pushed herself off the bed, which was a daunting task with her broken foot. She took the plastic bag to the bathroom with her, peed on all five of the tests, and opened up the timer on her phone.

Now began the waiting process.

"So, what's the story, Quinn?" Rachel said, leaning against the doorframe of her bedroom.

Quinn took the lid off the chocolate ice cream and dug her spoon in, obviously trying to avoid the question Rachel asked. Finally, she softly spoke. "I was a teen mom. One night at a end of summer party in high school, I got a little tipsy and ended up sleeping with this total douche from the local community college named Brody. I knew I should have listened to my friend Brittany about him being bad news, but he was a junior in college and I had just turned eighteen. It was nice to get acknowledged by someone older, you know? So we had sex in the bed of a pickup truck. Three months later, I was tired of my clothes not fitting me the right way, so I took the tests and they said I was pregnant. I told my parents and they kicked me out. I moved in with Brittany and her family for the rest of senior year. And on graduation day, I had my baby. A little girl named Beth. I let a couple from Cincinnati adopt her and I haven't seen her since." Quinn let out a small chuckle. "She's going to be nine in a week. And I haven't seen her since the day was born."

Rachel hobbled into her room and hugged Quinn. "I'm sorry, Quinn."

"It's okay, Rachel. She has two parents who love her. And I would have loved my baby, but when I told Brody, he told me I was crazy because he used a condom and I was some pathetic high schooler trying to pawn someone else's baby off on him. I think I told him the sex sucked before hanging up the phone." Quinn said, a smile spreading across her face. "Well, I think the results should be on the stick. Go check, and we'll have our girls day."

"Hey, Rach, I got your message. What's going on? I really needed to blow some steam off at the bar because today totally sucked at the hospital. You should be so glad you aren't there right now because you would have been in tears…what's all this?" Finn said, his talking stopped when he saw the kitchen was set up for a nice dinner, and candles were set up all around the dining room.

"I have something I have to tell you." Rachel said, turning around to face him after lighting the last candle. "So, go ahead and take a seat and Quinn's going to bring out the first course."

"First course? And Quinn's crashing this little date night of sorts?"

Quinn came out from the kitchen with two covered trays in her hand. "I'm not crashing date night, I'm merely here to bring dishes out from the kitchen to the two of you." She set one of the trays down in front of Finn and set the other one down in front of Rachel. "Just ring the bell when you're done with the first course."

Finn watched Quinn walk off. "What is this about?"

"She's helping us out, Finn." Rachel said, tapping her good foot on the ground while she wiggled her big toe that was peeking out from her cast. "Just take the cover off your food."

Finn did as Rachel said, prepared to see soup or a salad. Instead he saw one of the pregnancy tests.

"Is this sanitary, Rachel? Because usually they just get thrown out after people use them."

She rolled her eyes. "Quinn, just bring the rest of the trays out."

"Will they have real food on them because I'm starving and I didn't really get to eat lunch today because of what happened at the hospital."

Rachel stared blankly at Finn. He clearly had no fucking idea what was going on.

Quinn set the rest of the trays down in front of Finn and raised an eyebrow at Rachel. She just shrugged her shoulders.

Finn rubbed his hands together and took the tops off the remaining four trays and frowned when he saw four pregnancy tests.

"Rach, what the hell is this?"

She mentally face palmed. She thought she was being creative with telling Finn, but clearly, her husband wasn't creative.

"They're the pregnancy tests I took this morning. And they all say the same thing."

That got Finn's attention. He skimmed what the tests said and smiled. "Oh my God, Rach! Is this real?"

Rachel smiled and nodded her head. "We're pregnant, Finn. You and I are going to be parents. Zoey's going to be a big sister."

"And we'll have a real baby. Not just a kitten."

Rachel nodded and smiled. Finn got up from his seat and knelt in front of Rachel. "I love you so much right now, Rachel Hudson."

"I love you, too, Finn Hudson. I'm glad you finally figured out what Quinn and I planned."

"I can't believe I didn't think to read what the tests actually said." Finn said, kissing Rachel. "So, when are you actually due?"

"I was thinking about that earlier. And I need to get an appointment at the doctor's office, but I think I'm due the beginning of February. So we have plenty of time to figure everything out." Rachel said. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm absolutely starving. Quinn, you can bring out the real food now."

Finn chuckled as he went back to his seat.

He was going to be a dad again. And this time, he'd be there every step of the way for the baby.

**Author's Note: Yay for a Finchel baby! I'm big on hearing from you all about you want for baby Finchel and I haven't decided if I want the baby to be a boy or a girl, so it's going to be a contest. Mention in the comments which one you'd like, and whichever sex of the baby has the most votes will be the sex of the Finchel baby. And I have the names picked out already so I'll throw it out there, in case the name will sway a vote. If it's a boy, his name would be Christopher William Hudson, and if it's a girl, her name will be Audrey Ava Hudson. So comment away with what you want Baby Finchel to be.**


	16. And Last Till The End Of Time

**Chapter Sixteen: And Last Till The End Of Time**

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed the story thus far. The competition is closed because the next chapter has the reveal in it (which has already been written and will be posted shortly). As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Lea Michele, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, and Jenna Ushkowitz (or the original version by Roberta Flack).**

"Finn, if you're going to be late for assisting Sylvester with a surgery, don't let the appointment hold you up. Really, I can handle this all by myself." Rachel said, squeezing his hand.

The two of them were waiting in the lobby of the gynecologist at the hospital. They were going to see the baby for the first time.

"Are you serious? Rach, Sylvester knows I needed to be with you for something today. I can miss out on one little surgery so I can be with you so I can meet our little Finchel baby."

Rachel smiled on laid her head on Finn's shoulder. "Good. Because I don't want our baby to be mad that you miss her picture debut."

"Her? You think it's a girl? Finn asked, taking Rachel's hand in his.

"That's what I want. I'd be fine with a boy and I would love him to death, but I've always pictured my first kid being a girl. And I think Zoey would love to have a little sister."

"When are we going to tell people? I mean, like our family and friends. Although you already told Quinn so I feel like I should tell someone."

"Quinn only knows because she figured it out when I wouldn't stop puking. And I'd rather you keep it to yourself because it's not the third month yet."

"What's so special about the third month?"

"That's the safe zone. That's when we can tell people about the baby." Rachel started twisting her wedding ring back and forth on her finger. "Besides when I was little, I remember my mom telling me she was going to have a baby with my stepdad. And a few weeks later, she came home and tearfully told me there wasn't going to be a baby anymore. So I don't even want to tell Zoey because I don't want her to go through the same thing I did. And when we get past that point, we get to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. So I figured that way we could just reveal it all at once." Rachel said.

Finn nodded. He couldn't imagine what Rachel's mom must have gone through. The only loss he'd ever experienced in his life was when his dad died, but he didn't even have any real emotion connected to it because it happened when he was only a few months old.

So instead of saying anything, he gave Rachel's hand a squeeze and kissed the top of her head. "Okay. We won't say anything until you're ready."

"Thanks, Finn. And we really only have to wait like two months until we tell people. We can do it."

"Finn? Rachel? What are you doing in here?" Tina asked, coming down the corridor. "Shouldn't you be in therapy or resting at the house?"

Finn and Rachel shared a look between each other. This was going to be a lot harder than they thought.

"We just needed to get something done here, Tina." Rachel said. "So it's not a big deal."

Tina crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "O…kay. Well, I guess I'll see you both back at the house."

"Definitely." Finn said, nodding. "And, if you could, don't mention this to anyone else."

Tina nodded. "Well, I have to go. And I promise I won't mention this to anyone." She gave a slight nod and started walking down the corridor again.

"That was close." Rachel whispered, slouching slightly in the chair. "So I guess I lied; it's going to be a long two months."

"Hudson?" one of the nurses said, poking her head out of the door.

Finn and Rachel stood up.

"Ready to see Baby Hudson?" Rachel said as they walked back in to their exam room.

"Baby Finchel." Finn corrected, smiling.

"The doctor will be right with you." The nurse smiled at them and left the room.

"Want to make this interesting?" Finn asked, sitting in the chair next to Rachel.

"Make what interesting?" Rachel asked, trying to get comfortable on the uncomfortable bed.

"The sex of the baby. You want a girl, and I want a boy. Whoever picks the right sex gets to name the baby."

"Will it be something reasonable? Because I don't want my son to be ridiculed for his name. At least we know that if I pick the name, it will be a nice name."

"Are you saying you're on for the bet?"

"You have yourself a deal." Rachel said, extending her hand so Finn could shake it.

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson." The doctor said when she came into the room. "How are you doing this morning?"

"Good, thanks. We're ready to see the baby for the first time." Finn said, smiling down at Rachel.

"Well, I can't wait to show him or her to you." She crossed the room and stood next to Rachel. "Now, Mrs. Hudson, this is going to feel a little cold, but it will go away shortly."

Finn and Rachel held hands with each other as they paid close attention to the screen, waiting for the first look of their baby.

"And if you look closely, right there," the doctor said, pointing to a small spot on the screen, "That is your baby."

Finn looked down at Rachel and saw that she had tears forming in her eyes. "You okay, Rach?"

She sniffed and wiped some of the tears away. "I'm fine. It's just…this is the most wonderful thing I've ever seen." She smiled up at Finn. "I'm never going to forget this feeling."

Finn leaned down and kissed her. "So, how's the baby looking? All good?" he asked the doctor.

She smiled. "Both mom and baby are healthy. It looks like you're due around the beginning of February. And I'll be able to tell you the sex of the baby around the end of July. If you'd like to make an appointment for next month, one can be set up for you at the front desk. And don't hesitate to call if you have any questions."

"Great. Thanks, doctor. We definitely will." Rachel said.

"I'm glad I got to be there during the sonogram." Finn said after the doctor's appointment.

Rachel looked up from her chocolate sundae. "Of course I'd let you come. You're the father, and you're my husband and there's no one I'd rather share the moment with."

"Well, that's the difference between you and Julia."

"I thought there were a lot of differences between the two of us." Rachel said, frowning a little.

"Yes, that's true. But you told me you were pregnant the day you found out about it. I only found out about Julia being pregnant with Zoey after she almost had an abortion. I wasn't allowed to go with Julia to one of her appointments until she was more than halfway through with the pregnancy. And I didn't know Zoey was born until she was two weeks old. So you've already done a lot better than she has."

Rachel reached across the table and took Finn's hand. "I'm not one to talk ill of the dead, but Julia is a bitch. I've never wanted to hide anything from you. I love you, and I wouldn't hide anything from you – especially something like a baby."

Finn smiled at her. "That's why I married you and not her. And if we're being completely honest, I think you are being a way better mother to Zoey these last three weeks than Julia was. So I don't have any worries about you and our son."

"Son, huh? I think you're wrong, Hudson. This is a girl. The constant chocolate cravings are enough to tell me so."

Finn chuckled and brought Rachel's hand up and kissed it. "I can't wait to start our family together."

Rachel smiled as she took another bite of the sundae. "I can't wait, either."


	17. I Find My Paradise

**Chapter Seventeen: I Find My Paradise**

**Author's Note: There's a slight time jump in the chapter to the end of July so that way they can find out the sex of the baby (but it won't be revealed until the next chapter). And I just downloaded a bunch of new music so hopefully that will help with the writer's block. Because it's driving me crazy. As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from When You Look Me In The Eyes by The Jonas Brothers.**

"So, now that the three months are almost done, when are we telling everyone?" Finn asked Rachel when they were sitting in the doctor's office.

"After the intern exams. Because if we tell people before them, that's all they'll think about. Especially Kurt."

Finn chuckled because Rachel was right. If Kurt found out there was going to be a Finchel baby before he took the test, he'd fail the test.

"So, we aren't telling anyone at the hospital charity event tonight?" Finn said.

"Who would we tell? I'd rather just tell a bunch of people because it would be so much easier that way. And we could get it all over at once instead of having to be excited multiple times. I just don't have the energy to do that anymore."

Finn reached over to where Rachel was sitting and gave her hand a squeeze. Ever since she started to show the last few days (according to her, she started to show. Finn still thought she was perfect, but then again, he always thought she was perfect), she'd been claiming that she didn't have the energy to do anything.

"This baby is a good thing. You know that, right?" Finn whispered, leaning in closer to Rachel.

"Of course I know it's a good thing. I've always wanted a baby, and now I'm getting my first one. My first biological one, that is."

"You know Zoey thinks of you as her mom now, right?"

Rachel nodded and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I know. Last night when I was tucking her in to bed and said goodnight, she said goodnight momma to me." Rachel looked down and rubbed her (invisible to Finn) baby bump. "It made me excited for our little girl."

"You mean little boy." Finn corrected, winking at her.

Rachel shook her head, smiled, and rolled her eyes. "This baby is not a boy. I will not believe it's a boy unless the doctor says it's a boy."

"I'm a doctor. I think it's a boy."

"Well, Finn Hudson, I'm also a doctor, and the mother, and I think it's a girl." Rachel said, digging through her bag to answer her ringing phone.

Finn chuckled to himself and loosely played with a piece of Rachel's hair as she chatted away with someone from her family.

"Hudson." The nurse said, looking around the waiting room.

"Okay, Stacey, I have to go, but I'll give you a call back later." She hung up her phone and rolled her eyes. "God, my cousin is so annoying right now. She sees one picture of me at a family reunion and has the need to tell me her whole fucking pregnancy stories. Like, she doesn't even know I'm having the baby." Rachel said, getting up from the plastic waiting room chair to follow the nurse back to the exam room. "The only people who know about the baby besides the two of us is Quinn, and I know she doesn't have a clue who my cousin is."

"Dr. Potter will be here in a few minutes. She's finishing up with another patient then she'll be right in." the nurse said as Rachel got situated in the exam room. "Are you ready to find out the sex of the baby?"

"Absolutely. Although I already know I'm having a girl." Rachel said, giving a smug look in Finn's direction. Finn just rolled his eyes at her.

"And is that what you want too?" the nurse asked Finn.

"I'd be fine with a girl, but I already have one of my own, and I'm ready for a little guy. A mini me, if you will."

Rachel's eyes widened. "I swear to God, if this baby is a mini Finn Hudson, I'll have to be completely knocked out in order to give birth."

The nurse chuckled to herself. "Well, good luck to you both." She gave them a smile and left the room.

"Finn Christopher Hudson, you cannot say things like that. It's enough to give me a heart attack." Rachel said, laying back against the hospital bed.

Dr. Potter came into the room and smiled at the two of them. "Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Hudson. Are you ready to see the baby?"

"We're ready to find out if it's a boy or girl. And to find out if I'm right." Rachel said, making Finn roll his eyes again.

"Okay, well, you know the drill, Rachel." Dr. Potter said, crossing the room to stand next to the ultra sound machine. She squirted the cool gel onto Rachel and moved the wand around to see if she could find the baby.

"And there it is. There's the baby." She said, pointing to the spot on the screen. "And if you'd like to hear the heartbeat, I can play it for you."

Rachel nodded her head quickly and reached over to hold Finn's hand. He ran his thumb over her knuckles and bit his lip.

Rachel held her breath, hoping the heartbeat was strong enough for the two of them to be able to hear.

A strong sounding heartbeat started pumping through the machine.

"Oh thank God!" Rachel said, wiping away some tears that were starting to fall down her face. She looked over at Finn and saw that his eyes were starting to mist. "Finn, it sounds so perfect."

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He couldn't believe that he was hearing the sounds of their baby's heartbeat. It was a total milestone in his life, and one that he missed out on with Zoey.

"And now, are you ready to find out the sex of the baby?"

Finn and Rachel both nodded. Dr. Potter pointed at something on the screen, and the happy couple broke into huge grins.

"So, what's the point of the house meeting? Why are Kurt and Blaine here when they don't even live here anymore? And why the hell is Papas Berry and Mrs. H, and Berry's mom here?" Puck asked that night. "Because I'm missing out on another night of celebratory drinks at Rolling Greens."

"Noah, please watch your language. Zoey is literally two feet away from you. I assure you after this quick meeting is over, we all will be going to Rolling Greens for drinks." Rachel said. "And as for Kurt and Blaine being here, it was important for them to hear the news as well. And the parents too." Rachel looked at Finn and smiled. "The reason we wanted all of you to be here is to let you know that things are going to be changing around here the next few months." Rachel rested her hand on her stomach. "Finn and I are having a baby!"

"I knew it!" Kurt said, jumping up from his seat on the couch. "You've been acting so strange the last few weeks and I knew something was different. Oh, I can't wait to go shopping for a little Finchel girl!"

"Actually, Kurt, you won't be able to do that." Finn said. "You'll have to settle for shopping for a Finchel boy, though."

"Fuck yeah, Hudson. I knew you two would have a boy first." Puck said, giving Finn a high five. "You have to name the baby Puck."

"Finn, I beg you, please do not name our son Puck." Rachel whispered to him that evening at Rolling Greens.

"Don't worry, I have no plans of naming our son after Puck. I'm not even naming him Noah. In fact, I have a name picked out for him."

"Already? Finn, we just found out we were having a boy today. I had a list of five names I wanted if we were having a girl and I loved them all."

"Well, for starters, I've always known what I wanted to name my son. Christopher. After my father. Since our baby won't get to know his grandfather, I wanted to give him a piece of my dad. And for his middle name, I've always liked the name Cory. And if you ask my mother, she'll tell you that I had an imaginary friend when I was in kindergarten named Cory, and I guess I promised him that I'd give someone the name Cory. And while I love Zoey to death, I couldn't give her that name. But I think our son can handle it."

Rachel put her water bottle back on the bar countertop and leaned over to kiss Finn. "I love the name." She put her hand on her stomach and Finn put his hand on top of hers. "Christopher Cory Hudson."

Finn smiled and felt tears come to his eyes. "We can't wait to meet you, little guy."


	18. Forever Yours, Faithfully

**Chapter Eighteen: Forever Yours, Faithfully**

**Author's Note: So, this is it. The big bad wedding chapter. At least, their wedding that doesn't take place in the hospital. And it's another time jump to the end of January, which means that baby Christopher is close to making his appearance. And it wouldn't be a Glee wedding if there wasn't a little drama (wink, wink). As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Faithfully and we all know who sings it ;).**

"Oh my goodness, I can't believe the day is finally here!" Rachel said in the bride's room in the church where she getting married in exactly seventeen minutes. Rachel had everything timed to the tee, and everything was going to go off without a hitch. "Now it's going to be real."

"Honey, it's been real for almost a year now." Kurt said, helping Quinn fix Rachel's dress.

Sure, an empire dress with a huge baby bump wasn't the way Rachel planned on having her wedding dress look like, and she definitely wasn't anticipating being pregnant on her big day. But in all honesty, Finn and Rachel had already been married, so they weren't committing some big sin.

"But this time we have everyone here, not just hospital staff members." Rachel said, her smile starting to falter. "Well, most of the guests are hospital staff members. But at least my mom is here this time."

Shelby smiled as she got up from the chair she was sitting in and walked over to where Rachel was standing. "You look beautiful." She took a small package out of her purse. "This is your something old. It was the necklace that my mom wore when she married my dad. And it's time that you get to wear it."

Rachel looked at her mom with wide eyes. "Mom, is it the heirloom?"

"Yes it is. The same one you've been wanting to wear since you were three years old."

Rachel put her hand over her heart and tried not to cry. "Oh, Mom."

Shelby took a deep breath as she tried to compose herself. "I am not allowed to cry yet. So Kurt, or Quinn, or Tina is going to have to put the necklace on for you because I know I will not be able to do it."

Tina quickly walked over to wear Shelby and Rachel were standing, took the necklace from her, and clasped it around Rachel's neck. She stepped back to see how it looked.

"Rachel, the necklace completes the dress." she said, smiling and giving her a thumbs up.

"And for your something new." Carole said, handing Rachel another small package with a pink ribbon on it. "I saw it last night as I was leaving the rehearsal dinner and I knew you needed to have it."

Rachel smiled at Carole and took the top of the box off and gasped. On the inside was a silver charm bracelet. And the charms it had on it already were a small gold star with a pink rhinestone on its center, and four small letters, an F, an R, a Z, and a C.

"The letters represent your family. I put one on there for Zoey because she's—"

"She's my big girl." Rachel said, smiling at Zoey who was running around the room. "Slow it down, Zo. We don't want you to be tired during the ceremony and forget the toss the flower petals."

"Sorry, Momma." Zoey said, running to sit in an empty chair.

"It's okay, pretty girl. I love the bracelet, Carole. Thank you."

"And now, you have something borrowed." Tina said. "This one is from me." She handed Rachel a sparkly clip. "You've had your eye on this since the hospital charity ball. So, because it's your real wedding day, I'm letting you wear it. But I want it back at the end of the night." Tina said, reaching up to clip it into Rachel's hair.

"I'm going to make sure you won't be getting it back." Rachel said, laughing.

"And now, your something blue." Quinn said as Kurt brought out an overflowing blue gift bag. "Half of the things in there are for you, and the other half is for the baby."

"Including, this gorgeous blue quilt that features some messages from all of the people who love him already." Kurt says. "Although, there's not one from Puck. We figured you wouldn't want Chris to ever see what it said."

"Was it that bad?" Rachel asked, grimacing at what Puck wrote. She could only imagine.

"It was something along the lines of Puck telling Chris that if he had any questions about…certain life events so to speak, he should come to Puck instead of you or Finn." Kurt said. Quinn nodded her head in agreement.

"I am going to kill Puck!" She took a deep breath. "No. Not right now at least. Because right now I am going to get married!" Rachel said, clapping her hands. She was planning on jumping up and down, but she knew that wouldn't end well for her or for Chris.

Hiram and Leroy came into the room and both gasped.

"Rachela, you look absolutely breathtaking." Hiram said, going over to give Rachel a hug.

"Thank you, Daddy. You and Papa look stunning. I think Kurt and Blaine did a good job helping Finn pick out the tuxedos."

"I'd say it was all me and Blaine." Kurt said. "Finn did nothing whatsoever."

Rachel rolled her eyes and rubbed her stomach. "Well, is it time for the wedding to start?"

"Yes it is. Mitch asked us to come tell all of you to start getting lined up outside of the church for the processional." Leroy said, holding the door open so the wedding party could exit the room and head for the chapel.

Rachel watched from her spot as her mother walked down the aisle, then as the groomsmen and Finn entered from the opposite side of the church, then as Tina, Quinn, and Kurt walked down the aisle. She felt her breath hitch as all of the people inside the chapel stood up before she entered.

"Please keep me moving at a reasonable pace and make sure I keep breathing." Rachel whispered to her daddy and her papa. She didn't need to be taken to the hospital on her wedding day.

"Will do, Rachela." Leroy said as the music swelled, indicating it was time for Rachel to make her entrance.

Rachel always thought she was going to be the person that would be married to her job. The only husband she'd have is the one delusional patient who thought they were married or engaged, and the only children she'd have are the ones that were lying sick in hospital beds.

Now, here she was on her wedding day, walking down the aisle to her best friend when this time last year, they were barely speaking to each other after the liaison she had with Jesse (who, thankfully, had gotten fired from St. John's and was now working all the way across the country at UCLA). Sure, Finn and Rachel actually were married, but this time she was getting her dream wedding.

Except she never thought she'd be ready to pop when she dreamed of her dream wedding.

"Who gives this woman to this man?" the minister asked.

"Her mother, her father, and I do." Hiram said, winking at Rachel. She gave a slight nod and looked at Finn's shining face.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to once again join Finn and Rachel in holy matrimony. I was told that Finn and Rachel were married back in May, and they wanted this ceremony to celebrate the love they have for each other. And Finn has something he would like to say."

Finn cleared his throat and looked at Rachel. "Never in my life have I loved anyone the way I love you. Life has thrown us some pretty big curve balls, but we've managed to work through them together. You've done a wonderful job with Zoey, and an even better with Penelope, which is amazing since she's a little diva, and I know you can handle anything that comes your way. I can't wait to see what life brings us down the road because I know we will be able to handle them, because we'll be together and nothing is going to break us apart. I love you, Rachel Barbra Hudson. And I'm glad you and I got to do this all over again with all of our friends and family here."

Rachel smiled at Finn through her tears and quickly wiped them away. "Finn Hudson. I don't even know where to start. I never believed in love at first sight, but the first day of our internship at McKinley, I remember looking over at you when Sylvester was talking and I got lost in you. And I'm glad that after everything that happened in our internship year that we're able to be together. Here's hoping that residency is easier for us." The crowd of people chuckled at the start of Rachel's speech. "But I don't want to bore people with hospital talk. Because let's be honest, I can go on and on about it forever. I love you, Finn Hudson, and I'm so glad that you chose to be with me first. And I'm glad we got married, even if it was in a hospital chapel because it meant that I get to spend the rest of my life with you, and that's something I will never take for granted. I love you, and I can't wait to start our family. You, me, Zoey, Penelope, and Chris." Rachel said, not bothering to wipe the tears away. She was allowed to cry, after all. It was her wedding and she was allowing it.

"By the powers vested in me by God and the State of New York, I pronounce you husband and wife. Again. You may kiss the bride."

Finn and Rachel's lips met and the crowd erupted into cheers. Rachel smiled into the kiss, then her eyes went wide. She looked down and saw a small puddle of liquid on the church's carpet.

Chris had decided to come a little early.

She broke the kiss apart and looked around with a panicked expression on her face.

"Rach, what's wrong?" Finn asked, fear growing in his voice.

She lowered her eyes to the carpet and Finn did the same. When he noticed the puddle, his eyes went wide too.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to reintroduce to you, Mr. and Mrs. Finn Hudson." The minister started clapping, as did everyone else.

"Well, now that the wedding is over, Chris decided he didn't want to wait anymore." Rachel said, starting to laugh.

"So, instead of the wonderful reception that Hiram and Leroy planned for us, we're going to go to the hospital." Finn said. He looked over at Rachel who had this shocked expression on her face.

"Finn, I-I-I…I don't think I can do this." Rachel said, fear starting to course through her veins.

Without thinking, he went over to pick her up and carried her out of the church and into the limo.

"Excuse me, sir." He tapped on the glass divider between the back and the front of the limo. "Instead of taking us to the reception, we need to go to McKinley Hospital. Our baby's on his way."

"Of course." The limo driver stepped on the gas and sped towards the hospital.

"It's now or never, Rach." Finn said, squeezing her hand. He felt his phone vibrate and pulled it out of his pocket to see a text from his mom, asking what the parents should do. He responded that they should come to the hospital.

It was time for Chris to make his world debut.

**Author's Note: So we'll have the next chapter and then an epilogue. Thanks to everyone who's been reading!**


	19. A Man Child Would Be Born

**Chapter Nineteen: A Man Child Would Be Born**

**Author's Note: We're getting into the home stretch of the story! This chapter is the birth of baby Chris, so yay for that. As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. The chapter title comes from Zion by Lauryn Hill. The song lyrics used in the chapter are from Faithfully.**

"God, Finn, it hurts so bad. I don't think it's supposed to hurt this bad." Rachel said, walking around her hospital room. "Damn you and your mutant giant genes. I swear to God, if we have a girl she better not inherit your tallness. Ow!" Rachel said, doubling over from the pain.

"Come on, Berry. Drop an f-bomb. We all know you want to." Puck said.

Rachel looked up at Finn. "Get him out of here."

"No way. I'm not missing the birth of my godson for anything." Puck said, leaning back and stretching out on the couch set up in the room.

"Actually, Puck, that's something I need to talk to you about. You see, uh…you're—"

"Oh for God's sake, Finn. Noah, you aren't the godfather. Kurt is. Finn and I both agree that he's the better choice because he won't encourage Chris to have sex with every woman in New York." Rachel hissed as her eyes narrowed. "Now get out of here before I summon whatever strength I have left and kick you out of the room."

Puck gaped at Rachel for a few minutes. When he realized she wasn't joking, he grabbed his jacket off the couch and walked out of the room. "I have patients I have to see anyway. The reception not happening was the best thing that could have happened to me."

Finn watched his friend walk out of the room. "That's why I didn't tell Puck he wasn't the godfather. Now he's all crushed and I hate seeing Puck like that."

Rachel glared at him. "Do you hate seeing me like this?"

"Well, yeah, of course I do. You're my wife and I'd do anything to take away your pain."

"Then get me the fucking drugs!" Rachel growled.

"She said it!" Puck said from the hallway. "I fucking knew she'd drop one at some point."

"Shut the hell up, Noah!" Rachel yelled. "Please, Finn. You want to do something to help me. I need you to find Dr. Potter so she can give me the drugs so I can feel better."

Finn started to nod. "I can try to do that."

"Trying isn't good enough, Finn. I need you to find her so I can be put out of my misery." Rachel looked up at him with broken eyes. "Because it just hurts so bad."

"There's two of my favorite residents." Schuester said as he came into Rachel's hospital room. "How are you feeling, Rachel?"

"I want the fucking drugs and Noah won't leave me alone about say the word fuck and it just really hurts." Rachel's eyes lit up. "Are you here to give me the drugs?"

Schuester looked taken aback. "I'm sorry, Rachel, I can't do that."

"But..you're the chief of surgery. You can do anything you want to."

"Rachel, I—"

"Okay, Rachel, let's get you back into the bed and see how you're doing." Dr. Potter said, coming into the room.

"Dr. Potter, it's wonderful to see you." Rachel said sweetly as she walked over to the bed.

"Why are you being nice to her but mean to everyone else?" Finn asked.

"Because, Finn, Dr. Potter has the drugs and she can give them to me. So I'm going to be as nice as possible because I want the drugs."

Dr. Potter smiled and looked at Rachel. "Well, my dear, it's time for you to get the drugs. You're ten centimeters and ready to go." She turned to Chief Schuester. "And, with all due respect, sir, I'm going to have you to leave the room now."

"Of course. I just wanted to say congratulations to Finn and Rachel." He smiled at the two of them and walked out of the room.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this is finally going to happen." Rachel said as one of the nurses gave her the epidural. "We get to meet our son, Finn."

"Yeah. Our son." Just saying that made his heart swell with pride.

Also, he was proud of the fact that he was getting a son before Puck was.

"Come on, Rachel, one more push." Dr. Potter said.

"No, I can't do it anymore. Why can't I just be like Kourtney Kardashian and just pull my kid out of me?" Rachel said, tears streaming down her face. "I can't do it."

"Rachel, you need to push. Don't you want to meet your son?" Dr. Potter asked.

"Dr. Potter, I know what to do." Finn said, moving closer to Rachel. He knelt down next to Rachel and started singing. "Highway run, into the midnight sun. Wheels go round and round you're on my mind."

Rachel smiled and took a deep breath. "Thank you, Finn."

He pushed the sweaty hair strands off of Rachel's face and kissed her forehead. "Now, you should do the last few pushes so we can meet our son."

She nodded and scrunched her face in concentration. With a final push and a loud scream, a piercing cry filled the room.

Baby Chris was here.

"Finn, he's perfect." Rachel said when she was back in her hospital room. She gazed down at a sleeping Chris.

"What do you think, should we let some of the people in the waiting room come see him?" Finn asked.

Rachel looked up at Finn and smiled. "I think you should hold your son first. Then we bring in the parents and family. _Then _we bring in the coworkers."

Finn looked down at Rachel and Chris and took a deep breath. "Okay. And I can't wait for Zoey to meet her little brother."

She smiled up at Finn. "She's going to be a perfect big sister." She handed Chris over to Finn and laid back against the pillows on the bed. "I can't wait her to meet him." She shut her eyes and promptly fell asleep.

"Oh, Rachel, he's such a beautiful baby." Carole said, holding him a few days after Chris was born.

Rachel and Chris had been discharged from the hospital the day before and spent Finn and Rachel had spent the last few hours entertaining guests at their house (which now only included Finn, Rachel, Zoey, and Chris as Puck and Quinn got their own apartment and Tina decided to go to Columbia for her residency and got an apartment closer to the hospital).

"We think he's a keeper." Finn said, standing behind Rachel with his arms wrapped around her waist.

"Well, if you didn't want to keep him, I would gladly take him." Carole said, stroking the side of Chris's face. "He looks like you did as a baby, Finn."

"I'm just so glad he has Finn's nose and not mine." Rachel said. "No child should have to deal with a nose like mine."

Finn kissed Rachel's cheek. "I love your nose." he whispered. Rachel rolled her eyes in response.

"Have your parents' been by to see this beautiful baby boy?"

"Every day." Rachel said. "I'm surprised my dads haven't been by yet. Usually they've been here by noon, and it's already one thirty. I wonder what's holding them up?"

"Momma!" Zoey said, running into the living room. "Can I hold bubba?"

"Remember you have to sit down sweet girl." Rachel said, following Zoey over to the couch. Carole walked behind them and gently placed Chris into his big sister's waiting arms.

"Well, I have to head back to work anyway. I skipped my lunch break to come see the baby." Carole said, walking over to the chair to get her purse off of it.

At the mention of lunch, Finn's stomach started growling. "Well, I need lunch, too. How about I make some sandwiches before you have to head back?"

"I'll have to take mine to go, but thank you, Finn. I knew I raised a good boy."Carole said, winking at Rachel.

"I'll try and make sure your well raised boy raises a well raised boy." Rachel said.

"I'm sure he will, honey. I'm sure he will."

Rachel and Carole sat in comfortable silence while they waited for Finn to come back with the sandwiches.

"Here you go, Mom. A true triple decker, turkey, roast beef, and ham. And I put some mustard on there too. Just the way you like it."

Carole got up and gave Finn a hug. "Thank you, honey. Now I have to get back to work. Thank you for the sandwich. And as much as it pains me to say goodbye to my beautiful grandchild, I guess I have to. I'll see you both later. And Rachel, congratulations once again." She walked back over to where the three of them were sitting. She gave Rachel a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and did the same with Zoey. She kissed the top of Chris's head, smiled at the little family, and left.

"You know," Finn said, walking over to the couch with a sandwich on a plate. "We have quite the cute little family here."

Rachel looked over at Finn and smiled. "Yes. We most definitely do."


	20. Only Thing I'll Ever Need

**Epilogue: Only Thing I'll Ever Need**

**Author's Note: So, this is it. The final chapter. I've enjoyed writing this fic and interacting with all of you. All of the reviews that have been left on the story have made me incredibly happy. I want you all to know that I will be taking a short break from writing because I've neglected my summer reading project for college. After I finish the book, I will return to writing. I have a great idea for the next multi chapter fic, and I'll be posting soon. As always, I don't own Glee or any of its characters. I also don't own the company Carter's. I'm just a lowly sales associate there. The chapter title comes from As Long As We've Got Love by Javier Colon featuring Natasha Bedingfield. The flashbacks that happen in the chapter are in italics.**

**April 2023**

"You know, I feel like I have a hand in making you and Finn husband and wife." Sylvester said, coming up to Rachel when she returned to the hospital after her maternity leave.

Rachel looked up from the patient's chart she was looking at with an eyebrow raised. "Oh really? How do you think that is?"

"_Schuester. I need to have a word with you." Sylvester said, going up to the Chief of surgery the morning he was assigning interns. "I would like to have Berry and Hudson on my service. And if one of them ever comes to you and asks for a transfer off of my service, you are to tell them it is too late for that."_

"_What do you have up your sleeve?" Schuester asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. Sue Sylvester was one of the best surgeons in the hospital, but she was a pain to deal with in the morning._

"_Oh, it's nothing. I just think the two of them would work well together and push each other. And that's what we need in the hospital."_

"That's just the way I see it. Now, I need a resident to help me out with one of my cases for today? Are you up for that on your first day back?"

"Of course. What kind of case is it?"

"Sorry to interrupt, Sylvester, but Rachel is still just supposed to be doing patient rounds, not surgeries." Finn said, going up to the nurses' station to get a patient chart. "And those are doctor orders." He turned to Sylvester. "But I'm free to work on a surgery."

Rachel glared at Finn. It was one thing to remind their superior that she wasn't able to do surgery for a few more days, but he didn't have to volunteer himself for the surgery.

"Great, then come with me original Hudson. And new Hudson, keep an eye on the patient in 212. He coded last night."

Rachel sighed as she grabbed the chart.

**December 2024**

"So, I know we said we weren't going to get Chris any clothes for Christmas, but I couldn't resist getting him this shirt I saw when I was out shopping for Noah and Quinn's baby shower." Rachel said, handing Finn a bag from Carter's. "Will you wrap it for me?"

"Rach, you know I can't wrap shirts very well. Why would you do this to me?" Finn said, grabbing the bag. He reached his hand in and pulled out the gray tee shirt. "You could have made it a little easier for me and at least folded it the way clothes have to get folded before they get wrapped." Finn said, trying (and failing) to correctly fold the shirt.

"Wait, you have to read the shirt. I want to know what you think of it."

Finn looked at the clock on the stove in the kitchen. It was three in the morning and was technically Christmas Day, and Chris would be up in four hours. He was running out of patience with wrapping presents.

"Rach, I'm sure the shirt you picked out for our son is going to be okay but if you want me to read it, I will." He unfolded the shirt, read it, and smiled.

The shirt said "Best Big Brother in the World."

"Merry Christmas, Finn." Rachel whispered.

"When did this happen?"

"Back in September. During Kurt and Blaine's engagement party. I'm sure of it."

"_Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn." Rachel said, coming up to him with an orange plastic party cup in her hand. "Do you think Chris is going to be okay with my dads tonight?"_

_Finn took the cup out of her hands and put it on the table. "I think he's going to be fine, Rach. Let's get some water in you. And some food, too."_

_It seemed Rachel had other ideas. She tugged on one of Finn's hands and dragged him back to one of the rooms in the apartment._

"_Uh, Rach. What are we doing?"_

_She tried to focus on Finn's face. "Strip. We're having sex."_

Finn chuckled. Of course it had to happen when she was drunk out of her mind.

"I don't want to wait another month to tell people." She said, sitting on Finn's lap. She laid her head on his chest and looked up at him through her bangs. "It's Christmas. People are coming here in nine hours. I think we should tell them then. Because, honestly, a month won't make any difference."

Finn kissed the top of her head. "We can do whatever you want, babe."

**February 2025**

"I have an iffy feeling about going to the merger party tonight." Rachel said, zipping up her black dress. She stepped back from the bed and looked at her reflection in the mirror. She smiled when she saw the small baby bump peeking out from her dress.

This time, her and Finn were having a girl, and she was right, so she got to pick the name, which she was still working on figuring out.

Finn came into their room from the hallway where he was telling the babysitter last minute instructions about Zoey and Chris. "Why are you feeling iffy?"

"Well, we're merging with St. John's. That's where Sylvester's rival works, and I've met her once and it did not go over very well. And rumor has it is that Jesse is back from UCLA. Apparently they didn't have enough room for him and his big ego."

Finn rested his chin and Rachel's shoulder. "I'm sure tonight is going to be fine. Remember when you were pregnant with Chris and you thought the waiters were looking at you funny? I'm sure it's just another thing like that."

Rachel sighed and turned around to look at Finn. "You're probably right." She shook her head, and reached over to get her clutch. "Well, I guess we should head out before I start thinking of reasons why we shouldn't go tonight."

"Oh my God, the rumors were true. Jesse _is_ back from Los Angeles." Rachel said when she got to the hotel that the merger party was happening at. "This is a travesty."

Finn laced his fingers through Rachel's and kissed her cheek. "Everything is going to be okay. We can just ignore him for the night."

"Right. We can stick with our friends tonight and everything will be okay. Wait, Finn, he's coming over this way. What are we supposed to do?"

"Just keep cool." Finn whispered. "And let me do the talking."

"Finn. Rachel." Jesse said, nodding curtly at the two of them.

Finn narrowed his eyes and gave him a small head nod in acknowledgement. Rachel glared at him and reached across a table to grab cookie.

"Rachel, it looks like you've put on a little weight on since I last saw you. I think it's time to lay off the cookies for a little."

Rachel pursed her lips as the cookie she was holding was reduced to crumbs from her squeezing it too tightly.

Finn stepped closer to Jesse. "Don't talk to her like that. She's five months pregnant, it's natural."

"The baby must have your gigantor genes, then. Otherwise she wouldn't be the huge yet."

There was a loud popping sound as Finn's hand connected with Jesse's jaw. Rachel smiled, but her smile quickly disappeared when Jesse and Finn got into an all out brawl.

"Jesse, Finn, stop." She said, getting in the middle of them. Jesse pushed her to the side and she stumbled, hitting her head on the columns in the hotel.

"Oh my God, Rachel!" Kurt said, rushing to help Rachel. She stood up with one hand on her head and her other hand on her stomach.

"Kurt…the baby."

"Rachel, I'm sure everything is…oh, shit, you're bleeding. Finn, stop being immature and come help Rachel!" He turned his attention back to Rachel. "Okay, so here's the thing. You have to get to the hospital now because I don't want anything bad to happen to my sweet little future goddaughter that you have in there. You have to go to Columbia because it's closer. Is that okay?"

Rachel nodded as Finn came over and picked her up to go to the hospital.

"Finn, Rachel, is everything okay?" Schuester asked when they got to the front door where he was greeting people as they came inside.

"There's something wrong with the baby. We need to get Rach to the hospital." Finn said, brushing past the Chief as Kurt hailed a taxi to get them to the hospital.

"Finn, it hurts so bad." Rachel said, curling into his chest.

"We need to get to Columbia Hospital. And quickly." Finn said. "Speed. And if you get busted, I will pay your ticket. But my wife needs to get to the hospital."

The nice cabbie sped off towards Columbia.

**March 2025**

"She's getting so big, Finn." Rachel said, standing out of the nursery with Finn two weeks after Audrey Ava Hudson was born.

"Of course she is. She's a fighter like her mom is." Finn said, kissing the top of Rachel's head.

"I can't wait to hold her. Like, without all of the tubes and wires. And I can't wait for Zoey and Chris to meet their little sister."

"Our little family."

Rachel looked up at him and smiled. "Yeah. Our little family."

**April 2025**

"Momma, what's my surprise?" Zoey asked on her birthday as she walked down the hospital hallway with Finn, Rachel, and a sleepy Chris.

Finn reached down and picked up Chris as Rachel took Zoey's hand. "We're bringing your little sister home today."

"Really?" Zoey squealed. She started jumping up and down, and Rachel was sure that if she wasn't holding Zoey's hand that she'd start running throughout the hospital. "This is the best birthday present ever!"

Finn and Rachel smiled at each other as they turned the corner into the NICU. One of the nurses was standing near the front, holding baby Audrey. When she saw Finn and Rachel, she smiled and brought Audrey out to see them.

"Are you ready to take her home today?" the nurse asked.

"Absolutely. Rach and I finished painting her room last night. There's a lot of pink in my house now." Finn said.

"Can I hold her now?" Rachel asked.

"Of course." The nurse handed her to Rachel and smiled again. "It's been a few hours since she's eaten, so by the time you get home, you can probably feed her for the first time."

"Great, thanks, Olivia." Rachel said, completely taken away by her daughter.

Finn stood behind Rachel and wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Chris around Rachel's waist and Zoey stood in the center of Finn and Rachel.

"Olivia," Finn started, handing her his phone, "Would you mind taking a picture of us?"

"Yeah, that's fine." She took the phone and snapped a picture, then handed it back to Finn. He looked at it, smiled, and showed it to Rachel.

Their little family.

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who has read, alerted, favorited, and reviewed this story. This was my first multi chapter fic I wrote, and to receive such positive feedback was wonderful. Keep an eye out for my upcoming fic. Hopefully I'll have the first chapter posted within the next few weeks! Thanks again readers, and always believe in the tether.**


End file.
